Governments' Responses to the Covid-19 Pandemic in Europe: Navigating the Perfect Storm

468 Pages·2022·8.731 MB·English

by  Kennet Lynggaard, Mads Dagnis Jensen, Michael Kluth

Governments’ Responses
to the Covid-19 Pandemic
in Europe
Navigating the Perfect Storm
Edited by
Kennet Lynggaard
Mads Dagnis Jensen
Michael Kluth
Governments’ Responses to the Covid-19 Pandemic
in Europe
· ·
Kennet Lynggaard Mads Dagnis Jensen
Michael Kluth
Editors
Governments’
Responses
to the Covid-19
Pandemic in Europe
Navigating the Perfect Storm
Editors
Kennet Lynggaard Mads Dagnis Jensen
Roskilde University Copenhagen Business School
Roskilde, Denmark Frederiksberg, Denmark
Michael Kluth
Roskilde University
Roskilde, Denmark
ISBN 978-3-031-14144-7 ISBN 978-3-031-14145-4 (eBook)
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-14145-4
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Preface
On Monday, 18 May 2020, the soon-to-be editors of this book met at a café
for a drink in central Copenhagen. Our little social gathering marked the day
of the easing of restrictions and the reopening (little did we know that this
would soon be referred to as the “first reopening”) of social spaces, including
restaurants, bars and cafes. Soon into our chat about this and that and many
Covid-19-related topics, someone said we should do a book comparing Covid-
19 crisis responses in all European countries. Ten minutes later, we had a
rough plan. Over the next few weeks, we contacted scholars across Europe, not
necessarily experts on crisis management or the like, but rather scholars with
in-depth knowledge of a given country’s politics and political system. Almost
all we contacted replied with variations of “I am rather busy right now but, yes,
sure, my colleague and I are happy to contribute with a chapter on country
XX’s response to the Covid-19 pandemic”. If we (i.e., the editors) ever had
anything less than the highest regard for the responsiveness of academia, this
really boosted our trust in how otherwise highly occupied scholars will still
find the time and engagement to deliver information on one of, if not, the
most severe challenges to European societies for decades. We are very grateful
to the 48 scholars, from across 31 countries, who decided to contribute
to this book, following our not always coherent template—a book that we
hope will not need a second edition. In the process of editing the book,
we have received help from two fantastic student assistants to whom we owe
our gratitude: Laura Scheele and Kim-Elena Moll. We also want to acknowl-
edge the support we received from our colleagues at Roskilde University and
Copenhagen Business School, as well as the publisher.
Copenhagen, Denmark Kennet Lynggaard
Summer 2022 Mads Dagnis Jensen
Michael Kluth
v
Contents
1 Covid-19 Hit Europe: Patterns of Government Responses
to the Pandemic 1
Kennet Lynggaard, Michael Kluth, and Mads Dagnis Jensen
Part I The Southern Grouping
2 Introducing the Southern Grouping 21
Michael Kluth, Mads Dagnis Jensen, and Kennet Lynggaard
3 Italy: Contested Centralisation Amid Political Uncertainty 29
Edoardo Bressanelli and David Natali
4 Spain: Temporary Centralization Amidst Political
Polarization 41
Antonio Barroso and Juan A. Mayoral
5 Greece: Command and Control Combined
with Expert-Driven Responses? 53
Theofanis Exadaktylos and Sevasti Chatzopoulou
6 Portugal: From Exception to the Epicentre 65
João Carvalho
7 Cyprus: Exacerbating Authoritarianism 77
Gregoris Ioannou and Giorgos Charalambous
8 Malta: The Benefits of Centralised Politics 89
Mark Harwood
Part II The Eastern Grouping
9 Introducing the Eastern Grouping 103
Michael Kluth, Kennet Lynggaard, and Mads Dagnis Jensen
vii
viii CONTENTS
10 Poland: The “Cardboard State” Versus the Virus 111
Natasza Styczyn´ska and Marcin Zubek
11 Romania: Inconsistent and Unpredictable Policy
Implementation 123
Sergiu Gherghina and Sebastian Ilinca
12 Czech Republic: Best or Worst in Covid Country? 135
Petr Kaniok
13 Hungary: Populist Government Politics 147
Robert Csehi
14 Bulgaria: Swift Early Response by the Executive, Followed
by a Complete Governance Failure 157
Dimiter Toshkov
15 Slovakia: Anti-Pandemic Fight Victim of Politicization 169
Pavol Babos
16 Croatia: Breaking Fragile Trust 183
Tena Prelec and Sanja Bojanic´
17 Lithuania: Executive Dominance in the Context of Usual
Confrontational Politics 195
Ramu¯nas Vilpišauskas
18 Slovenia: Ripe for Autocratisation 209
Danica Fink-Hafner
19 Latvia: From Hubris to Nemesis 223
Daunis Auers
20 Estonia: Empowering the Executive 235
Liisa Talving and Piret Ehin
Part III The Northern Grouping
21 Introducing the Northern Grouping 249
Michael Kluth, Kennet Lynggaard, and Mads Dagnis Jensen
22 Sweden: A Decentralized, Coordinated Response
to the Pandemic 257
Evangelia Petridou, Jörgen Sparf, and Hilda Broqvist
23 Denmark: Executive Power Concentration, Yet Still
Consensus-Oriented 271
Michael Kluth, Mads Dagnis Jensen, and Kennet Lynggaard
24 Finland: Balancing Centralized Leadership and Regional
Interests 283
Risto Niemikari and Tapio Raunio
CONTENTS ix
25 Norway: A Pragmatic, Collaborative, and Legitimate
Response 295
Tom Christensen and Per Lægreid
26 Iceland: Heeding the Experts 307
Gunnar Helgi Kristinsson and Gústaf Adolf Skúlason
Part IV The Western Grouping
27 Introducing the Western Grouping 321
Michael Kluth, Mads Dagnis Jensen, and Kennet Lynggaard
28 Germany: Governance via Federal-State Conferences 331
Jale Tosun and Christin Heinz-Fischer
29 The UK: Policy as a Game of Two Halves 345
Edward Ashbee
30 France: From Centralization to Defiance? 359
Daniel Benamouzig
31 The Netherlands: The Acceptance of an Uncontrolled
Centralization of Power 371
Ira Helsloot and Koen Heijndijk
32 Belgium: Cooperation Out of Necessity and Confirmation
of Executive Dominance 387
Peter Bursens, Patricia Popelier, and Koen Verhoest
33 Austria: A Strong Start Followed by a Strong Descent 397
Franz Fallend and Eric Miklin
34 Switzerland: Experimental Governance and Polarized
Consociationalism 409
Martino Maggetti
35 Ireland: The Executive-Centred Politics of Covid-19 421
Conor Little
36 Luxembourg: All Hands on Deck 433
Anna-Lena Högenauer
Part V Concluding
37 Comparing 31 European Countries’ Responses
to the Covid-19 Crisis 447
Mads Dagnis Jensen, Kennet Lynggaard, and Michael Kluth
Index 469
Notes on Contributors
Ashbee Edward is Professor (mso) at Copenhagen Business School. His
publications include The Right and the Recession (Manchester UP, 2015)
and The Trump Revolt (Manchester UP, 2017). His current research work
considers western policy toward China.
Auers Daunis is Professor at the Department of Politics at the University
of Latvia. His research interests focus on comparative Baltic politics, particu-
larly radical right parties and movements, as well as Europeanization and EU
politics.
Babos Pavol is Assistant Professor at the Department of Sociology, Comenius
University in Bratislava. His main research area is Euroscepticism and voting
behavior.
Barroso Antonio is Deputy Director of Research at Teneo, where he is
responsible for coordinating the firm’s global political analysis platform.
Antonio is also Adjunct Professor at IE University’s School of Global and
Public Affairs in Madrid and the University of Navarra.
Benamouzig Daniel is Sociologist, Research Professor at CNRS and Sciences
Po (Paris. France). He is the holder of the “Health Chair” at Sciences Po and
has been a member of the Scientific council advising President Macron during
the pandemic. His work focuses on health systems, public health issues and
their regulations.
Bojani´c Sanjais Researcher immersed in philosophy of culture; media and
queer studies. She teaches Semiotics, Theories and Practices of New Media,
and Visual Methodologies at the Academy of Applied Arts in Rijeka.
Bressanelli Edoardo is Associate Professor of Political Science at the
Sant’Anna School of Advanced in Pisa. His work focuses mainly on EU
institutions, law-making, legislatures and political parties.
xi
xii NOTESONCONTRIBUTORS
Broqvist Hilda is a Ph.D. student in political science at Mid Sweden Univer-
sity. Her research interests include policy narratives and feminist policy in
practice.
Bursens Peter is Jean Monnet Chair, Professor of Political Science at the
Department of Political Science and senior member of the GOVTRUST
Centre of Excellence, University of Antwerp. His research interests include
multilevel governance, Europeanization and democratic legitimacy of multi-
level political systems.
Carvalho João is a Principal Researcher at CIES-ISCTE, ISCTE-IUL in
Lisbon. His research interests include the politics of international migration
and the far-right party family.
Charalambous Giorgos is Political Scientist and Assistant Professor at the
University of Nicosia. His academic work lies in the domain of comparative
European politics and political sociology.
Chatzopoulou Sevasti is Associate Professor at the Department of Social
Sciences and Business, Roskilde University. Her work focuses on European
politics and public administration and Europeanization of public adminis-
tration and social movements during austerity from a comparative politics
perspective.
Christensen Tom is Professor emeritus at the Department of Political Science,
University of Oslo. His research concerns public sector reforms, civil servants,
and organizational theory.
Csehi Robert is Lecturer at the Hochschule für Politik, Technical University
of Munich. His main research focuses on European and comparative politics.
Ehin Piret is Professor of Comparative Politics and Deputy Head of Research
at the Johan Skytte Institute of Political Studies, University of Tartu. Her
research focuses on voting behavior, political attitudes, European integration
and Baltic-Russian relations.
Exadaktylos Theofanis is Reader in European Politics at the Department
of Politics at the University of Surrey, UK. His work focuses more recently
on policy responses and political trust, but also on issues of Europeanization,
European public policy, austerity and Greek politics, the politics of crisis and
European comparative politics.
Fallend Franz is Senior Scientist in the Department of Political Science at the
University of Salzburg. His research focuses on Austrian politics, democracy,
populism and federalism.
Fink-Hafner Danica is Professor of political parties, interest groups and
policy analysis at the University of Ljubljana. Her research focuses on democ-
racy, party system and interest groups.