The motives of militarizing infectious disease responses: Indonesia, Brazil, and the COVID-19 pandemic

The COVID-19 Pandemic was the moment where the World Health Organization’s “Disease X” became reality for the general public. The pandemic was a moment where decades of institutional preparedness was finally tested, pushing international institutions and governments to their maxes as they faced a deadly unknown. To face the overwhelming strain many countries turned to their last resort: the military. One review found that 95% of countries used their armed forces in responding to COVID-19, a staggering number for an institution that is not frequently involved in domestic health matters. With statistics like these, it begs the question of how involved militaries were in taking on traditionally civilian roles to address the rising problems of COVID-19. Comparing the traditional position of the military with the civilian government’s preparedness for COVID-19 provided insight into the justifications for military involvement. Comparing Indonesia and Brazil, two relatively large democratic countries with a contentious civil-military history, I found that the COVID-19 pandemic offered the country’s respective militaries to progress their image and grow their power under the auspices of COVID-19. By carrying out military operations other than war that spanned from humanitarian aid and logistics to policing and biomedical research, the militaries gained confidence among the public as the nation’s defenders and the prerogative to take back the power they had previously lost to civilian governance. In Indonesia, the military worked together with the President assisting him with his political aspirations while gaining operational power within Indonesia’s democratic government. On the contrary, in Brazil the military’s support faltered as the President took authoritarian-leaning actions which threatened their societal reputation and influence. Allowing militaries to take on nontraditional roles in health crises normalizes their actions during vulnerable periods, as seen in Indonesia and Brazil, leading to a backslide in modern civil-military relations which can be stopped.