The Politics of National Responses to the COVID-19 Pandemic

Abstract

This introduction presents an overview of the key concepts discussed in the subsequent chapters of this book. The book discusses the policy puzzle and addressed broad theoretical concerns. It examines the interaction of national policy styles and political trust to explain differences across national contexts. While the crisis caused by the COVID-19 pandemic is highly salient because it affects all aspects of social life and possibly unique because it is rare, implications about responses inform a broader class of crises beyond this specific context. Pandemics create crises and add more elements to the mix. Pandemics create crises, and crises elicit policy responses of a fundamentally political character. Policy requires politics. Policies are ultimately made by politicians who occupy positions of formal authority. COVID-19 has created such a crisis, replete with social rituals, political power plays, and costly community responses. It cuts across policy sectors and social classes, providing a rare glimpse into extraordinary policymaking.