TY - ENCYC
T1 - COVID-19 Pandemic
AU - Lynggaard, Kennet
AU - Kluth, Michael Friederich
AU - Exadaktylos, Theofanis
PY - 2025
Y1 - 2025
N2 - One of the most popular public health measures during the COVID-19 pandemic was the widespread use of lockdowns. The imposition of measures restricting basic civil liberties, such as the right to assemble or freedom of movement, impeded political participation and mobilization. Such restrictions aggravated already paramount concerns about democratic backsliding, both within hybrid regimes and established democracies. This entry discusses the overextension of executive authority and its impact on representation during the COVID-19 pandemic, and the dynamics and tensions between centralization and decentralization of representation. It offers insights on the impact of public health measures on the legitimacy of political institutions and trust in them. The main argument is that even in countries with strong democratic legacies and civic engagement record, COVID-19 had a profound effect on the quality of the democratic output, the trajectory of democratization processes, and the emergence of democratic principles, values and norms in hybrid or authoritarian regimes.
AB - One of the most popular public health measures during the COVID-19 pandemic was the widespread use of lockdowns. The imposition of measures restricting basic civil liberties, such as the right to assemble or freedom of movement, impeded political participation and mobilization. Such restrictions aggravated already paramount concerns about democratic backsliding, both within hybrid regimes and established democracies. This entry discusses the overextension of executive authority and its impact on representation during the COVID-19 pandemic, and the dynamics and tensions between centralization and decentralization of representation. It offers insights on the impact of public health measures on the legitimacy of political institutions and trust in them. The main argument is that even in countries with strong democratic legacies and civic engagement record, COVID-19 had a profound effect on the quality of the democratic output, the trajectory of democratization processes, and the emergence of democratic principles, values and norms in hybrid or authoritarian regimes.
KW - COVID-19, public health measures, democratic legitimacy, representation, executive, trust
M3 - Encyclopedia chapter
T3 - Elgar Encyclopedias in the Social Sciences series
BT - Elgar Encyclopedia of Political Representation
A2 - Freire, André
A2 - Önudottir, Eva
A2 - Pedrazzani, Andrea
A2 - Schmitt, Hermann
PB - Edward Elgar Publishing
ER -