The problem of interaction of public authorities of different levels in the fight against the COVID-19 pandemic in federal states

Abstract

The article deals with the problem of interaction of public authorities of different levels in federal states within the framework of the fight against the COVID-19 pandemic. The experience of such countries as Australia, Brazil, India, USA, Switzerland and Germany is analyzed. As the development of events in the countries under consideration showed, a proper response to the threat of a pandemic in federal states can be somewhat difficult taking into account their characteristic system of multilevel governance and complex mechanisms of delineation of powers between the federation and its subjects. At the same time, the federal form of the state structure has also certain advantages including the possibility of applying a more flexible and differentiated approach towards individual territories and the availability of the established mechanisms of interaction between public authorities of different levels.