For decades, public health experts and journalists worldwide warned about a viral pandemic capable of causing illness and loss of life. Previous outbreaks of SARS, Ebola, and MERS highlighted this... Show moreFor decades, public health experts and journalists worldwide warned about a viral pandemic capable of causing illness and loss of life. Previous outbreaks of SARS, Ebola, and MERS highlighted this threat, which occupied top positions in risk assessments globally. Yet even with knowledge and precedent, the COVID-19 pandemic caught the world off guard. It revealed a world inadequately prepared and plunged societies into a state of disruption, with over 7 million deaths reported to the World Health Organization by April 2024. How did this tragedy foretold take the world by such surprise? In The COVID-19 Intelligence Failure: Why Warning Was Not Enough, Erik J. Dahl explores this question from the vantage point of the United States.In his book, Dahl, who is highly regarded for his expertise on intelligence failures, analyzes past and present intelligence efforts to underline the shortcomings and successes of the U.S. intelligence community's anticipation of the pandemic, comparing the anticipation and response to COVID-19 with historical failed warnings, such as those preceding 9/11 and Pearl Harbor. Show less
The criminalisation of people smuggling is the first comprehensive analysis of the smuggling of transit migrants from Indonesia to Australia and shows how this activity influences the relationship... Show moreThe criminalisation of people smuggling is the first comprehensive analysis of the smuggling of transit migrants from Indonesia to Australia and shows how this activity influences the relationship of the two countries. Those who follow Antje Missbach's works will be familiar with her previous book Troubled Transit (2015), which analysed the conditions of asylum seekers and refugees “stuck” in transit in Indonesia. The reviewed book shifts the focus from “recipients” of smuggling services to the “facilitators” of such services. The main question is the following: “Who are the people who organise and facilitate unsanctioned maritime passages from Indonesia?” (p. 22). In answering that question, Missbach details the roles of multiple actors who facilitate the “unsanctioned journey” across the sea of asylum seekers and refugees from Indonesia to Australia; she also discusses the development of anti-smuggling strategies in the two countries as well as the enforcement and consequences for facilitators and migrants, who are seeking asylum. Written in a readable narrative style supported by rich empirical data, this book is essential reading for all those who want to understand the complex nature of refugee issues in both countries. Show less
