Covid-19 and democracy, first cut policy analyses: country case studies

This report examines the intersection between political and policy responses to Covid-19 across 8 democracies (the UK, Germany, Romania, Bulgaria, Israel, Japan, Taiwan, and the US). In doing, it provides first-cut analyses of the early stages of the Covid-19 pandemic. For democracy to thrive, accountability is key. Core to this accountability is an understanding of how democratic states act to protect their citizens against a myriad of threats. In recent months, perhaps the largest of these threats has been the Covid-19 pandemic. Among the report's 8 case studies, some states were more prepared for such an event, and acted with more forethought, than others. This report shows that these differences in preparedness and forethought had real-world effects.