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Corona Virus: What Next? A Wavell Room Call for Papers

Bottom line: A call for papers of no more than 1,500 words on ‘what next’ for corona virus submitted no later than 1 May.

Context: The world is gripped by the Corona virus. Organisations and society are changing rapidly to meet the threats posed.  Societies are in lock down. Work practices are being adapted overnight. Change is coming.. However, the virus will end; be it in one month or one year, or longer.

There is a feeling amongst the security community that we need to raise our heads from the tactical detail of defeating the virus to make sure that Defence is driving in the right direction.  Where do we want the world to be when we reach the finish line?

What?  The Wavell Room is running an essay competition to answer the question “Corona Virus: What next?” 

Entries will be judged by the Wavell Room team.  There is no prize less your own pride and the chance to showcase your ideas to a global audience.

The ask is for a paper no longer than 1,500 words with a deadline of 2359 on 1 May submitted to frontdoor@wavellroom.com.

Please let us know if you need more time or more words.  We are flexible with submissions.

Scope: Answers are not limited to the British Armed Forces and we welcome a global outlook in the general area of defence and security.  We have deliberately left the question as open as possible and welcome a broad range of submissions. These could be from new methods of working, how social change will impact defence, or how defence should prepare for the future, or anything you like really… if you’re going rogue please chat with us beforehand! 

The key point, however, is that we don’t want to be fixed in the tactical detail of the response. 

We want to explore what happens after the virus and what it means. 

To give you some ideas:

  • Chinese/Russian information operations. 
  • Defence contributions to civil authorities.
  • How does the UK contribute to a global recovery (humanitarian interventions?)
  • Will social changes as a result of the virus impact recruiting?
  • Business resilience planning and the defence response.
  • Impact on conflict flashpoints or migration.
  • How will the virus impact military culture? Should we just go back to ‘normal’?
  • Has our response reflected to desire to integrate our activity – is there an emerging blueprint for similar ops 

Whatever you do, however, stay safe and wash your hands.


The Wavell Room Team

The Wavell Room Team are a bunch of enthusiastic individuals who believe strongly in constructive debate, discussion and openness in order to arrive at a sound, non-bias and informed position on many subjects.  The team are all volunteers and support this non-profit in their own time.

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