Abstract
How did the legal and political‐administrative relationship between central and local governments of two decentralised states shape their response to COVID‐19? Literature and theories on decentralisation argue that federal and decentralised states are less able to respond to crises in a coordinated manner due to their perceived greater susceptibility to political conflict. Situated within this theoretical debate and based on the analysis of legal acts, political decisions, and relevant national news media articles between March and August 2020 in Germany and Italy, this research note shows that, counterintuitively, more decentralisation does not necessarily translate into more legal and political stress during pandemic management. In responding to the COVID‐19 pandemic, Germany, a highly decentralised state, experienced less legal and political tensions than the less decentralised Italy. The key to understanding this variation lies in different institutional arrangements, complemented by the specific political cultures of both states.
Highlights
When the COVID-19 crisis erupted, many states had to take unprecedented health measures to contain the spread of the virus
Germany is a federal state characterised by constituent units (Länder), while Italy is a decentralised state composed of regions
Situated within theoretical debates on decentralisation and based on a content and discourse analysis of national news media articles between March and August 2020, this research note asks: how did the specific legal and political-administrative relationship between central and local governments of Germany and Italy shape their management of the COVID-19 crisis? Federal and decentralised states are thought to be prone to ineffective responses due to the risk of high levels of political conflict and less able to coordinate their crisis response
Summary
When the COVID-19 crisis erupted, many states had to take unprecedented health measures to contain the spread of the virus. We consider the relevant theoretical and empirical literature on decentralization and federalism before turning to a brief discussion of our methodology Following on from this discussion, we argue, with supporting empirical evidence, that the legal and political-administrative relationship between different levels of government in Germany and Italy impacted crisis management in both states. Decentralisation can increase the risk of conflict among a plurality of actors all seeking to hold/share power, thereby potentially causing disputes between different levels of government over the management of resources (Shou and Haug 2005) Because of their institutional complexity, federal and decentralised states are generally considered to be less able to respond to crises in a rapid and coordinated manner (Hegele and Schnabel 2021). The specific existing legal and political-administrative relationship between different levels of government may impact the ability of a government to effectively handle exogenous shocks such as the COVID-19 pandemic
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