TY  - JOUR
A1  - Kuhlmann, Sabine
A1  - Hellström, Mikael
A1  - Ramberg, Ulf
A1  - Reiter, Renate
T1  - Tracing divergence in crisis governance
T2  - International review of administrative sciences
N2  - This cross-country comparison of administrative responses to the COVID-19 pandemic in France, Germany and Sweden is aimed at exploring how institutional contexts and administrative cultures have shaped strategies of problem-solving and governance modes during the pandemic, and to what extent the crisis has been used for opportunity management. The article shows that in France, the central government reacted determinedly and hierarchically, with tough containment measures. By contrast, the response in Germany was characterized by an initial bottom-up approach that gave way to remarkable federal unity in the further course of the crisis, followed again by a return to regional variance and local discretion. In Sweden, there was a continuation of ‘normal governance’ and a strategy of relying on voluntary compliance largely based on recommendations and less – as in Germany and France – on a strategy of imposing legally binding regulations. The comparative analysis also reveals that relevant stakeholders in all three countries have used the crisis as an opportunity for changes in the institutional settings and administrative procedures.
KW  - administrative culture
KW  - containment
KW  - crisis
KW  - governance
KW  - multi-level system
KW  - policy advice
KW  - public health
KW  - window of opportunity
Y1  - 2021
UR  - https://publishup.uni-potsdam.de/frontdoor/index/index/docId/62272
SN  - 0020-8523
SN  - 1461-7226
VL  - 87
IS  - 3
SP  - 556
EP  - 575
PB  - Sage
CY  - Los Angeles, California
ER  -