Governance, State and Democracy in a Post-Corona World

Introduction 

For over a decade, we have been living through consecutive global crises that have brought the concept of governance in national and global politics to the forefront. The security crisis triggered by the 9/11 attacks, the 2008 global financial crisis with its specific repercussions in the Eurozone, and the refugee crisis with the onset of the Syrian civil war were particularly instrumental in highlighting the centrality of competent and effective governance in managing often unanticipated crises extending national borders and requiring international cooperation. The current epidemic with the new coronavirus (COVID-19) is no exception. Like the other crises of the past decade, the coronavirus is also a test of governance, where competence, transparency, trust, capacity, effective leadership, and efficiency lie at the core of success in fighting the pandemic. The extent to which states possess the capacity to address the crisis, the degree of inclusiveness through governance, and the complementary relationship between inclusive governance and democracy are key issues that we need to focus on in assessing the global response to the epidemic.