Apr 30, 2020
COVID-19’s Impact on Democracies around the World
During a virtual event held on April 27th, Academics from countries around the world discussed how COVID-19 is impacting governance and civic life
Last Monday, Ash Center alumni from Germany, Brazil, and England compared notes on how their countries are handling COVID-19 and the effect of the pandemic on their democracies. No one has a monopoly of wisdom in this pandemic. Citizens, social scientists, and policy-makers alike should learn from the paths that others are taking.
Speakers included:
Archon Fung, Harvard Kennedy School (Moderator)
Thamy Pogrebinschi, WZB Berlin Social Science Center
Brigitte Geißel, Goethe University Frankfurt, Germany
Pepper Culpepper, Oxford University, United Kingdom
Though many point to Germany as the European model for COVID-19 response, Brigitte Geißel stressed shortcomings there: “Considering the story about the high number of tests, this is only partly true, it’s different in different states. Where I live it is very difficult to get a test.” Furthermore, “The closing of kindergartens and schools made it especially difficult for women to go on with their lives. In Germany we have more than two million single parents who have to stay home and cannot work; we have eleven million families with children who can’t work.” Some of these groups — mothers and small business owners — are now calling for greater influence in decisions about how to handle COVID-19 in Germany.
Thamy Pogrebinschi was highly critical of the Bolsonaro administration’s COVID actions in Brazil. Under-counting has become a “dangerous tool for a populist president” to minimize the pandemic through misinformation, she said. Some state governments have stepped in with more effective measures. But at just the time when civic organizations could be powerful partners to help to fight the virus, civil society is been “frozen” in this authoritarian moment.
Pepper Culpepper attributed the slow response of the UK government in part to its focus on Brexit in February and to disagreements in the health policy community. He noted, however, that England has two advantages compared to the US. First, the enormously popular National Health Service has become a rallying point that brings citizens together to face this pandemic. Second, the UK just held their general elections while the US faces a “deeply disruptive” election in November that has, and will continue, to distort understandings and responses to COVID-19.
