This book seeks to identify the reasons why some countries were more efficient and effective than others in responding to the COVID 19 pandemic, and why the global community failed to coalesce. What are the political determinants of the different state responses to the pandemic? Why was scientific advice rejected or ignored in many countries? What has been the role, respectively, of neoliberalism, populism, and authoritarianism in the making of Covid-19 policy? What role have each of these factors played in the uneven and clearly inadequate global response to the pandemic?
In an effort to understand why some states failed to handle the pandemic properly, some of the literature suggests that populism is at the root of the current failure of international co-operation. The global financial crisis of 2008-10 triggered significant cooperation within the G-20, led by the combined efforts of the United States and China. These forms of cooperation have clearly disappeared in the context of the pandemic, not only with respect to economic policy but also in public health and management. The authors of this volume link the different state responses to the pandemic-- from its inception to the start of the vaccination campaign, and to the political regimes prevailing in each. In particular, the present volume focuses on a distinction between the responses of neo-liberal regimes, populist regimes and authoritarian ones.
Author(s): Alan W. Cafruny, Leila Simona Talani
Series: International Political Economy Series
Publisher: Palgrave Macmillan
Year: 2023
Language: English
Pages: 327
City: Cham
Contents
List of Contributors
Acronyms
1 Introduction: The Political Economy of the COVID-19 Crisis—Neoliberalism, Populism, and Autocracy
References
Part I Neo-Liberal States
2 Populism, Neoliberalism, and the Pandemic: The Tragedy of U.S. Policy
Introduction
Governance Crisis and the Politicization of the Pandemic
Testing and Procurement
Lockdowns
Vaccines
Neoliberalism and the Pandemic: The Deepening Crisis
Neoliberalism and Health Care
Macro-Economic Policy
From Trump to Biden
Conclusion
References
3 Risk, Responsibilisation and the Political Economy of the Pandemic in the UK
Introduction
Establishing the Covid State
The Arms-length State; Risk and Responsibilisation
The Political Economy of the Pandemic
Conclusion
References
4 The Covid-19 Crisis: Global Competitive (Geo)Politics, Labour Regimes and the Case of Greece
Introduction
Competitive (Geo)Politics and Implications of the Pandemic
Policies of Containing and Controlling the Pandemic
Policies of Containing the Effects of the Pandemic
Policies Dealing with the Consequences Caused by Measures Taken in Order to Contain the Pandemic
Conclusion
5 An Exceptional Case: Sweden and the Pandemic
Introduction
The Swedish Strategy
Initial Response
The Changing Strategy
Swedish Governance Structures
Structure of Public Governance in Sweden: The Delegation and Accountability of Powers
Crisis Governance and the Pandemic
Understanding Swedish Pandemic Exceptionalism
Leadership Within FHM
The Weakness of the Government
Public Culture: Trust, Rallying Around the Flag and Media Coverage
Conclusions
Contingent Causes
Reflections on Crisis, Democracy and Accountability
Appendix A: Press reports and statements by public authorities
References
Part II Populist States
6 The Pandemic Politics of the Bolsonaro Government in Brazil: COVID-19 Denial, the Chloroquine Economy and High Death Rates
The Chloroquine Military-Industrial Complex and the So-Called Covid Kit
Labour Relations During the COVID-19 Pandemic
Development of Poverty, Salaries and Hunger
Conclusions
References
7 The Political Economy of Pandemic Management in India
Introduction
The Domestic Domain
Inter-State Tussles
According to Two Commentators
The Pandemic and Federalism
Religious Polarization
Delayed Response and Power Politics
Human Rights
The Messy Second Wave
Gujarat and Kerala as Two Models
COVID-19 and India’s International Relations
Health and Vaccine Diplomacy
Summit Diplomacy
Geopolitical Alignments
Evacuation
Conclusion
References
8 A Tale of Two Crisis: The Impact of EU Response to the Pandemic—The Case of Italy
Introduction
A Tale of Two Crisis: The EU and the Response to the Euro-Zone and the COVID-19 Crisis
Macroeconomic Response
Public Health Response
The Impact of EU COVID Response on Italian Politics and Economics
From Giuseppe Conte to Mario Draghi: The National Recovery and Resilience Plan in Italy
The Six Pillars
The Vaccination Campaign in Italy
Conclusion: What About the Future?
Part III Authoritarian States
9 Authoritarian Crisis Response to COVID-19 in China
Authoritarian Crisis Response
Past Crises
Health Care Provision
Authoritarian Advantage?
Sources
Early Missteps and Institutional Impediments
Rapid Shift in Response Effectiveness
Top-Down Control and Cracks in Zero-COVID
Conclusion
References
10 Health and Vaccine Diplomacy in Russia’s Foreign Policy
Introduction
COVID-19 and Russia: A Matter of Foreign Policy
Foreign Policy Through Health Diplomacy
Russia’s Health Diplomacy Worldwide
From Russia with Love: The Italian Case
COVID-19 and the Post-Soviet Space
Keeping Belarus Under Control
Final Remarks
Annex: List of Interviewees
References
Part IV Global Inequality
11 COVID-19 and Sub-Saharan Africa: Paradoxes and Very Tentative Conclusions on the Pandemic
COVID-19 in Perspective
“Normal Conditions of Life” and the Privileges of Wealth: African Realities
Vaccines, Inequalities, and Efficacy
12 Conversation on Precarity: The Mutation of the Virus into a Public Health Risk on Equity
Introduction
Precarity and Equal Life Chances
Post-Covid-19 Precarity and the Role of Isolation and Solidarity
Conclusion
References
13 Pandemic Co-pathogenesis: From the Vectors to the Variants of Neoliberal Disease
Introduction
Section 1: The Four Vectors of Neoliberal Disease
The Vector of Neoliberal Neocoloniality
The Vector of Neoliberal Inequality
The Vector of Neoliberal Austerity
The Vector of Neoliberal Legality
Section 2: Two Variants of Neoliberalism Emerging from the Pandemic
References
Index
