Southern Europe in The Covid-19 Pandemic: The First Phase

This book investigates the fast-learning experience of Covid-19’s initial onset in a region long renowned for low state capacity, political polarisation and weak health systems. Covid-19, a global health emergency entailing a major existential threat, presented a crucial challenge for national governments and political systems. It elicited drastic policy measures, including unprecedented lockdowns. The question of how and why some states acted more effectively in facing this emergency situation has important implications for future crisis management. The outcomes varied greatly across countries, ranging from examples for emulation to dire portents of the consequences of losing control. Case studies of Italy, Greece, Spain, Portugal, and Turkey examine crisis preparedness, policy response, political dynamics and societal reception. A comparative overview chapter offers potential explanations for the divergence in national performance. This volume will be of great use to students and researchers across the fields of European studies, political leadership, public policy, governance and public health. The chapters in this book were originally published as a special issue of South European Society and Politics.

Table of Contents:
1. Southern Europe Managing the First Phase of the Covid-19 Pandemic: The Crucial Effect of Timing 2. Italy, the Sick Man of Europe: Policy Response, Experts and Public Opinion in the First Phase of Covid-19 3. The Limits of Power Concentration and Expert Knowledge in Emergency Management: Spain’s Government Response during the First Phase of the Covid-19 Pandemic 4. A Portuguese Miracle: The Politics of the First Phase of Covid-19 in Portugal 5. Regaining Trust: Evidence-Informed Policymaking during the First Phase of the Covid-19 Crisis in Greece 6. Surviving the Covid-19 Pandemic under Right-wing Populist Rule: Turkey in the First Phase