Introduction

According to the World Health Organization (WHO), reporting from 5 January 2020 to 3 March 2024, the total (cumulative) number of global COVID-19 cases is estimated to be over 774 million infections with 7 million deaths. 1 Beyond the significant loss of life lies profound global economic, political, and social changes. Its impacts remain poorly understood even four years since the onset of the pandemic and will likely affect nations for generations. In many liberal democracies, including the ‘Five Eyes’ countries (United States, United Kingdom, Australia, Canada and New Zealand) there has been increasing commentary that the political, economic, social and of course public health impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic are having, and will continue to have, national security implications.