Minerva-funded researcher, Stephen Biddle’s recent article, “War-time Lessons for Industrial Mobilization in a time of a Pandemic”, discusses COVID-19 as an emergency that can compare to a war-like crisis such as World War II. The critical shortages in medical supplies and equipment, produced calls to use U.S. national defense authorities to compel industry to shift production from consumer goods to critical medical supplies. Biddle identifies how World War II can highlight the often-overlooked challenges of organizations and politics that can radically slow mobilization and create long-term problems from short-term fixes.
Link: https://warontherocks.com/2020/04/wartime-lessons-for-industrial-mobilization-in-a-time-of-pandemic/