Conclusion

Abstract

The final chapter reflects on the arguments and empirical findings presented in this volume, as they relate to the three key questions: How have political institutions created incentives for effective public health responses to the pandemic? How have state capacities enhanced governments’ ability to implement public health responses to the pandemic? And how have governance responses influenced the democratic quality of political institutions and processes in different political systems? Taken together, the eleven substantial chapters in this volume point to three broader findings. First, a high-capacity state is not a necessary condition for containing pandemics; even low-capacity states can provide adequate resources and knowledge to minimize infection rates. Second, the institutional properties of a political regime (in particular, inclusion and accountability mechanisms) did, in some cases, provide strong incentives for political elites to take decisive action against COVID. However, whether institutions prompted an effective public health response depended on other factors – for example, the extent to which public agencies are insulated from particularistic interests and the composition of the government’s winning coalition. Third, the effect of the COVID pandemic on the quality of democratic institutions has been rather limited – both globally and in the Asia-Oceania region. It is mainly political systems with preexisting conditions – defective democracies and electoral authoritarian regimes – that have witnessed significant democratic regression.