Baselining COVID-19

Abstract

This chapter discusses the relative successes and failures of the management of the pandemic, with a particular focus on the rule of law. Success and failure can be measured along many lines, and depend and vary relative to the indicators chosen. Defining the aim is crucial both for the assessment of proportionality and for the benchmarking of performance. A rule of law evaluation cannot take as its basis the public health consequences of the pandemic. A more relevant approach is the consequences of the pandemic and the measures employed on democracy and the rule of law. The chapter argues that even well-established democracies, such as the Nordic states, have made their institutions more vulnerable. When our political rulers set out to deal with a future crisis, they will do so with the legacy of the pandemic as precedent, unless we now review our experiences and enact measures to prevent this.