Navigating uncertainty: Science-policy interface at knife's edge
The precarious politics of sense-making
Chapter 3. Getting things done
When the rule book no longer works
Governance challenges
First responses
Governance capacity and legitimacy
The politics of crisis governance
Chapter 4. Crafting narratives
Constructing the meaning of the COVID-19 crisis
The rise and fall of crisis narratives
The power of words
Framing contests
Communicating COVID-19
A long rollercoaster ride
Chapter 5. Towards closure
The need for closure
The politics of accountability
The politics of learning
Chapter 6. Pathways to resilience
Pivoting forward
Overcoming organized blindness
Vigilant decision-making
Managing fragmentation
Credible crisis narratives
Managing collective stress
What matters now
Arjen Boin is Professor of Public Institutions and Governance, Institute of Political Science, Leiden University, the Netherlands. He has published widely on topics of crisis and disaster management, leadership, institutional design and organizational issues. He is also a managing partner at Crisisplan BV and founding member of the European Societal Security Research Group.
Allan McConnell isProfessor of Public Policy at the University of Sydney, Australia. He has published extensively on the politics of risk and crisis management, crisis exploitation, warning signs, contingency planning, policy success, policy failure and fiascos, policy evaluation, policy processes, wicked problems, hidden agendas, symbolic policies and policy inaction.
Paul ‘t Hart isProfessor of Public Administration at Utrecht University School of Governance, the Netherland, and a core faculty member of the Australia New Zealand School of Government (ANZSOG), Australia. His extensive publication record addresses issues such as successful public governance/policies, organisations and collaborations; political and public service leadership, and crisis politics and crisis governance.
This open access book offers unique insights into how governments and governing systems, particularly in advanced economies, have responded to the immense challenges of managing the coronavirus pandemic and the ensuing disease COVID-19. Written by three eminent scholars in the field of the politics and policy of crisis management, it offers a unique ‘bird’s eye’ view of the immense logistical and political challenges of addressing a worst-case scenario that would prove the ultimate stress test for societies, governments, governing institutions and political leaders. It examines how governments and governing systems have (i) made sense of emerging transboundary threats that have spilled across health, economic, political and social systems (ii) mobilised systems of governance and often fearful and sceptical citizens (iii) crafted narratives amid high uncertainty about the virus and its impact and (iv) are working towards closure and a return to ‘normal’ when things can never quite be the same again. The book also offers the building blocks of pathways to future resilience. Succeeding and failing in all these realms is tied in with governance structures, experts, trust, leadership capabilities and political ideologies. The book appeals to anyone seeking to understand ‘what’s going on?’, but particularly academics and students across multiple disciplines, journalists, public officials, politicians, non-governmental organisations and citizen groups.
Arjen Boin is Professor of Public Institutions and Governance, Institute of Political Science, Leiden University, the Netherlands.
Allan McConnell isProfessor of Public Policy at the University of Sydney, Australia.
Paul ‘t Hart isProfessor of Public Administration at Utrecht University School of Governance, the Netherland, and a core faculty member of the Australia New Zealand School of Government (ANZSOG), Australia.