Organising Irresponsibility: Pandemic Management, State Transformation and the Diversion of Class Politics in Scotland’s COVID-19 Response

Abstract

The COVID-19 lockdowns rank as the most abrupt and consequential transformations in modern state-society relations outside of wartime. One enduring puzzle of this period is the convergence of policy responses during COVID-19, despite the diffusion of power and sovereignty that has accompanied the emergence of multilevel governance paradigms. We investigate this by examining the politics of pandemic management in the context of Scotland’s devolved relationship with the United Kingdom. The paper draws on interview data with governance officials and analysis of devolved policy literature to show that presentational differences between Holyrood and Westminster’s responses to COVID-19 disguised substantive similarities in interventions and outcomes. It argues that these stylistic conflicts served to channel and offset class-based grievances and epitomise the organisation of irresponsibility: the power to disclaim accountability. This reflects the dysfunctional tension between levels of multilevel governance that incentivise superficial conflicts over scale and jurisdiction while dispersing and diffusing responsibility.