Tracing divergence in crisis governance
- 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 theThis 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.…
Author details: | Sabine KuhlmannORCiDGND, Mikael HellströmORCiD, Ulf RambergORCiD, Renate ReiterORCiDGND |
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DOI: | https://doi.org/10.1177/0020852320979359 |
ISSN: | 0020-8523 |
ISSN: | 1461-7226 |
Title of parent work (English): | International review of administrative sciences |
Subtitle (English): | responses to the COVID-19 pandemic in France, Germany and Sweden compared |
Publisher: | Sage |
Place of publishing: | Los Angeles, California |
Publication type: | Article |
Language: | English |
Date of first publication: | 2021/01/06 |
Publication year: | 2021 |
Release date: | 2024/01/24 |
Tag: | administrative culture; containment; crisis; governance; multi-level system; policy advice; public health; window of opportunity |
Volume: | 87 |
Issue: | 3 |
Article number: | 0020852320979359 |
Number of pages: | 20 |
First page: | 556 |
Last Page: | 575 |
Organizational units: | Wirtschafts- und Sozialwissenschaftliche Fakultät / Sozialwissenschaften / Fachgruppe Politik- & Verwaltungswissenschaft |
DDC classification: | 3 Sozialwissenschaften / 34 Recht / 340 Recht |
Peer review: | Referiert |