From centralisation to new ways of multi-level coordination: Spain’s intergovernmental response to the COVID-19 pandemic

Abstract

ABSTRACT This article studies the Spanish response to COVID-19 from an inter-governmental relations perspective. Despite its high degree of territorial decentralisation, a strong centralisation movement characterised Spain’s first months of dealing with the crisis. But once the first wave of contagions was overcome, regions regained their space and new types of vertical coordination between central and regional governments were put in place. Standing apart from central-regional frictions, and as a separate piece in the multi-level system, municipalities found their place in developing an autonomous and active role in fighting the economic effects of the pandemic. Territorial tensions, veto players and the emergence of new IGR formal mechanisms characterise the Spanish trajectory, our analysis of which draws upon the literature on crisis management and intergovernmental relations.