Special issue introduction: The political ramifications of COVID-19

AuthorDaniel Stockemer,Theresa Reidy
Published date01 June 2021
Date01 June 2021
DOIhttp://doi.org/10.1177/01925121211015759
https://doi.org/10.1177/01925121211015759
International Political Science Review
2021, Vol. 42(3) 297 –299
© The Author(s) 2021
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DOI: 10.1177/01925121211015759
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Special issue introduction:
The political ramifications
of COVID-19
Daniel Stockemer
University of Ottawa, Canada
Theresa Reidy
University College Cork, Ireland
Starting in February 2020, the world experienced probably the worst external shock of the 21st
century to date, the ongoing COVID-19 crisis. Detected first in the province of Wuhan, People’s
Republic of China (PRC), in December 2019, or January 2020, COVID-19 travelled across the
world, infecting over 130 million individuals and killing almost three million people (as of 7 April
2021), and the numbers continue to grow (see Johns Hopkins University Corona Virus Resource
Center, 2021). The COVID-19 pandemic continues to generate a political and economic crisis of
global magnitude with countries in the Global South and Global North grappling with the health
consequences of the virus and the social and economic outcomes of the varying strategies imposed
by national and subnational governments to halt the spread of COVID-19.
The scale of the crisis has triggered a so-called risk-society in many countries across the globe
in which ‘concerns about personal safety and health as well as collective security have risen to the
top of the social and political agendas’ (Boin and t’Hart, 2003: 548). With few exceptions govern-
ments in countries as diverse as India, Germany or Argentina have reacted to the highly contagious
disease by implementing drastic measures including shutting down economies and confining peo-
ple to their homes. These measures inflict enormous damage beyond their health impacts and have
created severe strains on the economic and social lives of countries. Specifically, the crisis has
already triggered one of the largest economic recessions of the 21st century with millions of people
unemployed around the world. In addition, social distancing and confinement measures have cur-
tailed basic individual freedoms and put a strain on human relations. School and childcare facility
closures have led to increased stress in families causing psychological damage.
The COVID-19 pandemic is a ‘transboundary crisis’; a crisis where ‘the functioning of multi-
ple, life-sustaining systems, functions, or infrastructures is acutely threatened and the causes of
Corresponding author:
Theresa Reidy, Department of Government, Room 2.50, Block B, O’Rahilly Building, University College Cork,
Cork, Ireland.
Email: t.reidy@ucc.ie
1015759IPS0010.1177/01925121211015759International Political Science ReviewReidy and Stockemer
research-article2021
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