The last year has been a sleepless one for Scott Greer and Elizabeth King, both experts in political science at the University of Michigan. Engaging with the health policy aspects of the COVID-19 pandemic has required much late night and early morning discussion with their collaborators around the world, including Elize Massard da Fonseca at the Sao Paulo School of Business Administration and Andre Peralta-Santos of the University of Washington.

Their expertise is constantly being sought by national governments and international organizations such as the World Health Organization. However, the four long-time collaborators have also been reflecting on how to capture some of the lessons of the current crisis so that the international academic and policy community can learn from experience.

Working with Elizabeth Demers, Editorial Director of the University of Michigan Press, Greer, King, Peralta, and Massard have drawn together a stellar group of case studies from around the world to develop an edited book, Coronavirus Politics: The Comparative Politics and Policy of COVID-19. Thanks to a novel iterative review process and an expedited production schedule, the book is being published in spring 2021. With support from the University of Michigan International Institute, the electronic version is being distributed free-of-charge.

Learn more about the conclusions of the book in this University of Michigan news story. Below you can also watch the video of a U-M International Institute Round Table focused on the book, held on April 22, 2021.

University of Michigan Press will also be publishing a book on cultural reactions to COVID-19 in fall 2021, written by a diverse group of leading scholars at the University. Being Human During COVID-19 is edited by Kristin Ann Hass and is also being made available free-of-charge electronically with support from the U-M College of Literature, Science, and the Arts and the Michigan Humanities Collaboratory.