The Revenge of the Germs
Alain Bauer
International Journal on Criminology • Volume 8 , Number 1 • Winter 2020 / 2021
Professor of Criminology at the Conservatoire National des Arts et Métiers , New York and Shanghai
CNAM Security Defence Intelligence Research Team
Abstract
In 1898 , H . G . Wells published The War of the Worlds , a novel in which he imagined the first victorious invasion , then the final destruction of extraterrestrial forces , militarily and technologically superior , by means of a terrible weapon : unidentified microbes suddenly annihilated the Martians .
Today , we are faced with a dramatic event that is an inverted mirror image of that classic of anticipation , a dramatic event that is no less a part of science , but not a part of fiction . For the first time in the history of humanity , a total crisis has struck the world as a whole .
The radical novelty of this crisis lies in the fact that it brings together these two dimensions and that , in order to understand it , it is necessary to grasp these two key concepts in a panoramic way .
Keywords : Crisis Management , Governance , Germs , COVID , Security
La venganza de los gérmenes
Resumen
En 1898 , H . G . Wells publicó La guerra de los mundos , una novela en la que imaginaba la primera invasión victoriosa , luego la destrucción final de fuerzas extraterrestres , militar y tecnológicamente superiores , por medio de un arma terrible : microbios no identificados de repente aniquilaron a los marcianos .
Hoy nos enfrentamos a un acontecimiento dramático que es un espejo invertido de ese clásico de la anticipación , un acontecimiento dramático que no es menos parte de la ciencia , pero no de la ficción . Por primera vez en la historia de la humanidad , una crisis total ha golpeado al mundo en su conjunto .
1 doi : 10.18278 / ijc . 8.1.2