Covid-19: SOAS expertise and analysis
During this unprecedented time, SOAS is committed to supporting our community and sharing our expertise, skills and knowledge to make sense of what’s happening on a global scale and contribute towards the response.
With our specialist, global expertise, our academics are helping to inform and shape current understanding about economic, political, cultural, security and religious challenges globally in light of the pandemic.
Read the latest Covid-19 expertise, analysis, interviews and comment pieces from our experts below.
Media interviews with our experts can be arranged by emailing the Communications Team at press@soas.ac.uk.
Read the latest entries from our academics about Covid-19 on the SOAS blog.May
- Latin America: Covid-19 exposes structural problems of commodity-producing economies - Dr Tobias Franz - 15 May
- Learning from coronavirus to tackle climate change: the imperative of solidarity and equity - Philippe Cullet - 12 May
- Bolsonaro is not fit to lead Brazil through the Coronavirus pandemic - Gabriel Huland- 11 May
- Law in the time of Corona: Gender, feminism and international law - Dr Gina Heathcote and Dr Michelle Staggs Kelsall - 7 May
- Framing Covid-19 in Nepal - Michel J Hutt - 6 May
- COVID-19 and trade justice: will this time be different? - Alistair Fraser and Action for Southern Africa (ACTSA) - 5 May
- Another imminent global health emergency: COVID-19 and fake pharma - Emma Hooper - 4 May
- When oil markets go viral: Covid-19 and the oil industry (part 1) - Adam Hanieh- 4 May
External articles and research projects
- Oxfam: Rethinking anti-corruption for COVID-19 - Mushtaq Khan and Dr Pallavi Roy- 19 May
- Straits Times: Covid-19 pandemic poses risk to China's anti-poverty campaign -Steve Tsang quoted - 18 May
- South China Morning Post: Coronavirus, US-China decoupling prompt Beijing to unveil new western development plan -Steve Tsang quoted - 18 May
- The Japan Times: Covid 19: Japan and ‘the East Asia edge’ - Ian Inkster - 15 May
- BBC Arabic: Coronavirus: Egypt launches a healthy public relations diplomatic campaign with the West- Reem Abou El-Fadl quoted -15 May
- OMFIF: Covid-19 lessons for sustainable finance - Dr Ulrich Volz - 14 May
- Le Monde: The world after: "To get out of recurrent crises, let's make resilience the principle of public action" - Dr Ulrich Volz - 14 May
- Al Jazeera: SOAS Director, Valerie Amos, is among dozens of ex-leaders, diplomats and academics calling for a "people's vaccine", amid fears of discrimination with some countries unable to afford a potential cure made in the Global North - 14 May
- Global Voice: The SOAS World Languages Institute is collaborating with the virALLanguages project to ensure speakers of minority languages have access to basic COVID-19 health information - 11 May
- Spiegel: Argentina's economy in the corona crisis - Dr Ulrich Volz quoted - 10 May
- Raconteur: Virus fallout could usher in the UBI era - Guy Standing quoted heavily - 10 May
- South China Morning Post: Coronavirus: Africa’s debt problems must not be used as a political football, experts say - Stephen Chang quoted - 10 May
- feminist review: Weaponising the Covid-19 crisis in India- Navtej Purewa - 8 May
- The Atlantic: The Tensions Underlying Pakistan’s Ramadan Decision - Muhammad Abdel Haleem quoted - 7 May
- The South Asian Express: COVID 19: South Asia in Global Context - Ian Inkster - 6 May
- Civil Liberties and Surveillance in a Time of Coronavirus - Vanja Hamzić (part of the SOAS Corridors of Power project) - 5 May
- El Pais: China wins the fight for Africa - Hangewi Li quoted - 03 May
- The Times: Coronavirus: China’s ‘wolf warrior’ diplomats sink teeth into the West - Steve Tsang quoted - 3 May
- Estadão.com.br: Coronavirus crisis affects remittances of emigrants and threatens poor countries - Laura Hammond quoted- 03 May
- The Daily Telegraph: Why are we hesitating to demand an international inquiry into China? - Steve Tsang quoted - 1 May
Media interviews
- BBC Radio 4: Steve Tsang, Director of the SOAS China Institute discusses China and the Covid-19 pandemic - 14 May
- BBC World News: Steve Tsang discusses the USA's calls to investigate the origins of COVID-19 in China and China's reaction to this - 4 May
- BBC Radio Scotland: Lauren Johnston, discusses how African countries are dealing with the pandemic - 2 May
- Iran Labour News Agency: Guy Standing discusses the need for a universal basic income - 2 May
April
SOAS Blog articles
- How a global pandemic is unsettling African buildings - Dr. Joanna Tomkinson - 30 April
- What does the China-Europe relationship look like amidst a pandemic? - Alicja Bachulska - 29 April
- Education and Covid-19 in Nigeria: tackling the digital divide - Taibat Hussain - 29 April
- Crisis and the media: what are we being told? - Mark Hobart - 28 April
- Why world leaders have a global blindset when it comes to Covid-19 - Orly Levy - 27 April
- African public health responses to Covid-19: make your own masks, quarantine, and don’t stigmatize- Lutz Marten - 23 April
- Covid-19. Crisis, Agrarian Issues, Rural Livelihoods: An Agrarian Questions Resource- The Journal of Agrarian Change - SOAS Academics - 22 April
- Framing Covid-19 in Nepal - Michael Hutt - 21 April
- Addressing coronavirus in conflict zones: three factors policymakers should consider- Jasmine Bhatia - 20 April
- Covid-19 in India - Avinash Paliwal and Edward Simpson - 10 April
- 'No solid evidence’ for use of Traditional Chinese Medicine to combat Covid-19 - Steve Tsang - 9 April
- Agility or collapse ? Higher education post Covid-19 - Dr Awino Okech - 8 April
- How will Remittances Affect the Somali Covid-19 Response? - Laura Hammond in collaboration with the Conflict Research Programme (Somalia) at the LSE - 7 April
- Reflections on media and crisis - Mark Hobart - 7 April
- Health for all or health for those who can afford it? - Julia Ngozi Chukwuma - 6 April
- Coronavirus: From public health emergency to economic crisis- Professor Costas Lapvitsas - 4 April
- How to have difficult conversations during the Covid-19 pandemic - Michael Bartlet - 1 April
External articles and research projects
- The Print: Pakistan military won't take budget cuts easily even for Covid so this man has been hired - Dr Ayesha Siddiqa- 30 April
- Taiwan Insight: Covid-19: Taiwan in a regional and international context - Ian Inkster - 30 April
- Esquerda: This is a Global pandemic, Let's treat it as such - Dr Adam Hanieh - 29 April
- Bloomberg: China in Africa is more important than a land grab - Lauren Johnston quoted - 28 April
- Oxford Business Group - Can emerging economies afford a "green" recovery from Covid-19? - Dr Ulrich Volz is quoted - 28 April
- New York Times: China questions US handling of coronavirus amid global backlash - Steve Tsang quoted - 27 April
- Al Jazeera: Fears rise for UK's non-coronavirus patients as backlog grows - Aina Khan - 27 April
- The Telegraph: China touts alternative remedies from bear bile to orange peel to treat coronavirus- Steve Tsang quoted - 26 April
- International Policy Digest: COVID-19: Global Mortality Rates and Policy - Ian Inkster - 26 April
- New Politics: Self-Extinction of Neoliberalism? Don’t Bet on It - Gilbert Achcar - 24 April
- The Africa Report: ‘Coronavirus diplomacy’: China’s opportune time to aid Africa - Hangwei Li - 24 April
- Deutsche Welle: How China is expanding its influence in Africa in the Corona crisis - Stephen Chang quoted - 23 April
- South China Morning Post: How Gandalf and ancient poetry can show the world a different side to China amid coronavirus unease - Steve Tsang quoted - 22 April
- Bloomberg: Religious Group’s Mass Gatherings Across Asia Spark Virus Clusters - Burzine Waghmar quoted - 21 Apr
- Developing Economics: A crisis like no other: social reproduction and the regeneration of capitalist life during the COVID-19 pandemic - Alessandra Mezzadri - 20 April
- China Daily: Well positioned: China better placed than other major economies to recover, ease the pain globally - George Magnus quoted - 17 April
- Ketagalan Media: Han Kuo-yu Recall: Kaohsiung Mayor Vows to Fight in Court as ‘D-Day’ Looms - Dr Dafydd Fell quoted - 17 April
- The Conversation: Mistreatment of Africans in Guangzhou threatens China’s coronavirus diplomacy - Hangwei Li - 17 April
- Al Jazeera: Why are ethnic minorities more vulnerable to coronavirus? - Aina Khan - 17 April
- Financial Express: Basic income: Towards a path of resilience - Guy Standing - 16 April
- LSE Blogs: Covid-19 and economic development in Latin America - 16 April
- The Conversation: Coronavirus will drive public debt far higher than expected – but don’t expect austerity 2.0 - John Weeks - 15 April
- Rebelion: Remittances are reduced and hunger strangles millions of people in the South - Laura Hammond quoted - 15 April
- Ya Libnan: How Lebanon’s political parties are using coronavirus to seize back control - Jamil Mouawad - 14 April
- The Banker: A Covid-19 recovery plan that supports the EU's Green Deal - Dr Ulrich Volz - 14 Apr
- LSE: How investor pressure leads to higher dividend payouts - Ciaran Driver - 14 April
- Al Jazeera: Anger as right-wing UK voices suggest Ramadan virus spread - Dr Suriyah Bi quoted - 13 April
- International Policy Digest: COVID-19: Lessons for the Global South - Ian Inkster - 13 April
- MEHR News Agency: Covid-19 revealed exactly state-centrism of realism - Interview with Arshin Adib-Moghaddam - 12 April
- The Guardian - China clamping down on coronavirus research, deleted pages suggest - Steve Tsang quoted - 11 April
- Newsweeks - Huawei's Canada ask donations cause bipartisan concern in Washington - Steve Tsang quoted - 11 April
- Crown Conversations - Iran’s Response to the Coronavirus Crisis - Dr Orkideh Behrouzan - 11 April
- South China Morning Post: In the battle against the coronavirus, East Asian societies and cultures have the edge- Ian Inkster - 10 April
- African Business Magazine: Africa’s death ratio lower than the West but higher than Asia - Ian Inkster - 10 April
- Bloomberg: Trump’s ‘Friend’ Jack Ma Helps Repair China’s Image After Virus - Steve Tsang quoted - 9 April
- South China Morning Post: In the battle against the coronavirus, East Asian societies and cultures have the edge - Ian Inkster - 9 April
- Climate & Capitalism: Covid-19: Will big oil emerge more powerful than ever? - Adam Hanieh - 9 April
- Centre for Geopolitics: Does China pose a moral hazard in the international society? - Steve Tsang
- The New York Times: China's coronavirus battle is waning. Its propaganda fight is not - Steve Tsang quoted - 8 April
- France24, Jordan Times, Daily Mail, The North Africa Journal, Al Bawaba: Virus pandemic deals heavy blow to Egypt's working poor - Adam Hanieh quoted - 8 April
- Pulling-up the drawbridge: nationalism, self-interest and the collapse of global cooperation against Covid-19 - Michael Jennnings - 8 April
- COVID-19 Symposium: Law in the Time of Corona (or: Dear Dr…) - Gina Heathcote and Michelle Staggs Kelsall - 7 April
- The Independent: Inside China’s victory over coronavirus: Family separations, door sensors – and belly button massages - Steve Tsang quoted - 7 April
- TheFloridaPost.com: As coronavirus layoffs surge in richer countries, poorer ones lose vital remittance payments - Laura Hammond quoted - 7 April
- EurActiv: How to finance virus response in a sustainable way? Scale up synergies with the Green Deal - Ulrich Volz - 7 April
- El Pais, Forbes: Spain Plans Universal Basic Income To Fix Coronavirus Economic Crisis - Guy Standing quoted - 6 April
- City Limits: Opinion: NYC Should Expand Credit Unions for Future Pandemics - Bilal Zenab Ahmed - 5 April
- Developing Economics: Debt Moratoria in the Global South in the Age of Coronavirus - Christina Laskaridis - 4 April
- Muslim Institute: How to Cope With Self-Isolation, According to a 9th Century Islamic Philosopher - Esme L K Partridge - 4 April
- Wired: The coronavirus pandemic will break globalisation - Steve Tsang quoted - 3 April
- The Print: Like India, Pakistan has a Tablighi Jamaat Covid-19 problem too. But blame Imran Khan as well - Dr Ayesha Siddiqa - 3 April
- The Jakarta Post: COVID-19 and animal discrimination - Dr Soe Tjen Marching - 3 Apr
- Council On Foreign Relations: How Jihadi Groups in Africa Will Exploit COVID-19 - Bulama Bukarti - 3 April
- INews gr: Deep recession is coming, war measures are needed - Costas Lapavitsas - 3 April
- The Independent, European Business Review, Foreign Policy Magazine, NBC News: Steve Tsang comments on China's handling of the coronavirus narrative - 2 April
- Wired: Can Universal Basic Income fix the coronavirus crisis? - Guy Standing quoted - 2 April
Media interviews
- BBC Ulster: Steve Tsang discusses China’s handling of Covid-19 - 29 April
- African American Policy Forum: Alyosxa Tudor discusses devastating path of COVID through various locations of confinement - 29 April
- Listen notes: Dr Owen Miller, Lecturer in Korean Studies was interviewed about South Korean history and the country's reponse to Covid-19 - 26 Apr
- BBC News: Dr Olivia Cheung discusses why the origin of COVID-19 is considered increasingly sensitive in China - 25 Apr
- BBC News 24: Dr Erica Hunter discusses the Georgian Orthodox Church's decision to administer the Eucharist using a shared spoon despite measures imposed by the Georgian government in the current coronavirus - 19 Apr
- BBC Persian: Dr Orkideh Behrouzan discusses the impact of COVID-19 on mental health in Iran - 18 April
- Bloomberg TV: Leslie Vinjamuri speaks about the possibility of Washington cutting off WHO funding - 15 April
- BBC News: Steve Tsang discusses China lifting the lockdown in COVID-19 epicentre Wuhan - 8 April
- ABC Radio: Steve Tsang discusses China lifting the lockdown in COVID-19 epicentre Wuhan - 8 April
- Interview with SOAS Masters student, Helen Patuck who has created a storybook for children on COVID-19 in collaboration with the WHO - 7 April
March
SOAS Blog articles
- COVID-19: This is a Global Pandemic – Let’s Treat it as Such - Dr Adam Hanieh - 31 March
- How is Covid-19 impacting Human Rights - Dr Lutz Oette - 30 March
- Covid-19 is the medium the message - Dr Dina Matar - 27 March
- Media and Metaphors during COVID-19 - Mark Hobart, Professor Emeritus - 27 March
- Coronavirus, Economic Crisis and Basic Income - Professor Guy Standing - 20 March
External articles and research projects
- Forbes: Could Covid-19 Drive A Structural Shift In The Oil Markets? - Felicia Jackson - 31 March
- University World News: TV channel reaches students without internet access - Dr Añulika Agina quoted - 31 March
- The Conversation: Bani Adam: the 13th-century Persian poem that shows why humanity needs a global response to coronavirus - Professor Arshin Adib-Moghaddam - 27 March
- Middle East Eye: Coronavirus: How Iran could become guinea pig for herd immunity strategy - Maziyar Ghiabi- 27 March
- The Print: Coronavirus crisis makes it clear who is calling the shots in Pakistan—Military, of course - Dr Ayesha Siddiqa - 27 March
- Al Jazeera: How coronavirus is changing funeral rites, mourning and grief - Aina Khan - 27 March
- PV Magazine: Could Covid-19 be the catalyst for change where the COP process has stalled? - Felicia Jackson - 26 Mach
- Taipei Times: Taiwan’s coping can benefit all - Ian Inkster - 26 March
- El Murcurio: Dr Subir Sinha discusses India's response to the Coronavirus pandemic - 25 Mar
- Covid-19 and sub-Saharan Africa: a tragedy in waiting? - Dr Mike Jennings - 24 Mach
- The Telegraph: How China is rewriting the coronavirus narrative to distract from mistakes at home - Steve Tsang quoted - 22 March
- Financial Times: Dr Ulrich Volz, published an op-ed calling for a major issuance of the IMF’s Special Drawing Rights to provide liquidity to developing and emerging economies during the coronavirus crisis - 20 Mar
- El Pais: Coronavirus, economic crisis and basic income - Professor Guy Standing - 13 March
- BBC News: Coronavirus: Five ways virus upheaval is hitting women in Asia - Dr Christina Maags quoted - 8 March
- ABC News: Coronavirus: Rumors and misinformation swirl unchecked in China - Steve Tsang quoted - 6 March
- South China Moring Post: In the firing line: the women in China’s war on the coronavirus - Steve Tsang quoted - 3 March
Media interviews
- Monocle Radio: Steve Tsang discusses China's attempts to control the coronavirus narrative through propaganda - 26 Mar
- Die Zeit: Interview with Dr Ulrich Volz about the G20 summit on the coronavirus pandemic - 26 Mar
- BBC World Service Radio: Professor Guy Standing discusses the need for a universal basic income for all in light of the coronavirus pandemic - 22 March
- Al Jazeera: Interview with Steve Tsang on "Is total lockdown the cure for the coronavirus?" - 20 March
- Al Jazeera: Interview with Steve Tsang on "Controlling the coronavirus narrative: China’s propaganda push" - 14 March
February
External articles
- Enterprize Magazine: Coronavirus will hinder China’s economic development, think tank report reveals - George Magnus - 28 Feb
- Associated Press: Q&A: Saudis halt Muslim pilgrimage over virus fears - Muhammad Abdel-Haleem discusses Saudi Arabia's decision to halt Muslim pilgrimage over coronavirus fears - 27 Feb
- The Conversation: World economy flashes red over coronavirus – with strange echoes of 1880s Yellow Peril hysteria - Professor Emeritus John Weeks - 25 Feb
- CNN: Stranded lobsters and missing wedding dresses: The coronavirus is a daily reminder of China's global reach - Steve Tsang quoted - 24 Feb
- The Times: The coronavirus outbreak is putting pressure on China on many levels - George Magnus - 18 Feb
- The New York Times: Battling Coronavirus, China Signals Delay of Its Top Party Gathering - Steve Tsang quoted - 17 Feb
- ABC News: Cost of China's anti-virus fight rises with workers idle - Steve Tsang quoted - 16 Feb
- CGTN: Chinese millennials brush off anti-China racism following coronavirus outbreak - Daniel Marwecki quoted - 14 Feb
- The Telegraph: China's Xi Jinping faces a battle for authority over coronavirus crisis - Steve Tsang - 7 Feb
- Barrons: Xi Jinping Grabbed All the Power. Then the Coronavirus Hit - George Magnus - 6 Feb
- Huffington Post: This Is Why The Coronavirus Death Toll Figures Aren't Totally Accurate - Steve Tsang quoted - 6 Feb
- The Independent: Amid growing panic and outrage, coronavirus fears are uniting those at war in Hong Kong - Steve Tsang quoted - 5 Feb
Media interviews
- Strait Times: Interview with Orkideh Behrouzan on Questions about transparency as Iran tackles coronavirus outbreak -28 Feb
- BBC Persian: Interview with Orkideh Behrouzan about the coronavirus outbreak in Iran - 26 Feb
- Chatham House podcast: Meera Meera Sabaratnam discussed Decolonization, and China’s response to the coronavirus - 20 Feb
- Channel 5: Interview with Master student Hau-Yu Tam about racism against East Asian people in the wake of the Covid-19 outbreak - 19 Feb
- BBC World Service: Interview with Steve Tsang about China's handling of the Covid-19 outbeak - 13 Feb
- BBC World Service: Interview with Steve Tsang about China's response to the Covid-19 outbreak - 7 Feb
January
External articles
- CNN: China's economy was supposed to get a boost this year. The coronavirus makes that unlikely - George Magnus - 30 Jan
- New York Post: China residents face jail if they slam country’s coronavirus response - Steve Tsang quoted - 30 Jan
- Times Higher Education: Scholars urge cooperation and transparency as coronavirus spreads - Steve Tsang quoted - 27 Jan
- BBC News: China coronavirus: The lessons learned from the Sars outbreak - Steve Tsang quoted - 24 Jan