How States Respond to Crisis Pandemic Governance Across the Global South

by Gisselquist, Rachel M.; Vaccaro, Andrea

• ISBN13: 9780198907206
• ISBN10: 0198907206
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2025-05-27
• Publisher: Oxford University Press

Summary

This is an open access title available under the terms of a CC BY-NC-SA 3.0 IGO licence. It is free to read at Oxford Academic and is offered as a free PDF download from OUP and selected open access locations.

We expect the state to matter in times of crisis, for more 'capable' or 'stronger' states to better provide for and protect their populations. But how is it, precisely, that the quality of the state matters? This volume speaks to this question through comparative study of how diverse states in the Global South responded to the COVID-19 pandemic, the largest global crisis in recent memory.

Bringing together insights from quantitative cross-country analysis and detailed country case studies, How States Respond to Crisis analyses the ways in which the quality of the state - in terms of its capacity, authority, and legitimacy - affected pandemic governance and health outcomes. Overall, while the significance of state capacity to deliver public services in effective pandemic response is clear, so too is striking variation among states lacking 'strong' capacity. State legitimacy and authority shed light on this variation, linked in particular to the degree to which governments' responses were evidence-based versus politically driven, and the tenor of citizen compliance with and government enforcement of public health regulations.

Seven case study chapters authored by leading scholars of each country provide deep and specific insight into these relationships in Bolivia, Ghana, Nicaragua, Peru, the Philippines, Tanzania, and Vietnam. Extending beyond a literature on the state based heavily on study of Global North contexts, this volume sheds new light on the nature of the state and its role in crisis response and development.

Author Biography

Rachel M. Gisselquist, Senior Research Fellow, United Nations University World Institute for Development Economics Research (UNU-WIDER),Andrea Vaccaro, Postdoctoral Research Fellow, Blavatnik School of Government, University of Oxford

Rachel M. Gisselquist is a political scientist and international development professional with two decades of experience in academia, applied policy research, and the leadership of international research programmes and projects. She is currently a Senior Research Fellow with the United Nations University World Institute for Development Economics Research (UNU-WIDER). Previously, she was Research Director, Index of African Governance, at Harvard University. She has published widely in leading scholarly outlets on issues of inequality, ethnic politics, state-building, foreign aid, governance, and democracy. She holds a PhD from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

Andrea Vaccaro is a Postdoctoral Research Fellow at the Blavatnik School of Government, University of Oxford, and an Associate Member of St Antony's College. Previously, he was a Visiting Researcher at the World Institute for Development Economics Research, United Nations University (UNU-WIDER) and a Postdoctoral Researcher at the University of Insubria. His research interests lie at the crossroads between comparative politics and global development. Recently, he has worked on the interplay between the state, political regimes, and development, as well as international aid, COVID-19 responses, and measurement and indicators. He received his PhD from the Sapienza University of Rome.

Table of Contents

List of FiguresList of TablesList of AbbreviationsList of ContributorsPart l Introduction1. What COVID-19 Can Tell Us about the State: A Global Look at the First Year of the Pandemic, Rachel M. Gisselquist;Andrea VaccaroPart II Sub-Saharan Africa2. Harnessing Residual Capacity: Ghana's Struggle against Health System Constraints in the COVID-19 Response, Kofi Takyi Asante3. The Effects of Limited Capacity, Ideational Legitimacy, and Weak Authority on the Tanzanian State Response to COVID-19, Amy S. PattersonPart III Asia4. Pandemic Populism amid Weak State Capacity in the Philippines, Julio C. Teehankee5. Local Governance and COVID-19's Health Impact: Evidence from Vietnam, Duc Anh Dang;Anh TranPart IV Latin America6. Decentralization, State Capacity, and Inequality: Explaining COVID-19 Outcomes in Bolivia, Calla Hummel;V. Ximena Velasco Guachalla;Jami Nelson-Nuñez; Carew Boulding7. The Devasting Effects of the COVID-19 Pandemic on Peru: The Undermining Role of Vertical Health Policies in Health Systems, Camila Gianella8. Nicaragua's Puzzling Pandemic Response, Mateo Jarquín