Democracy, Autocracy, and the Politics of the Covid Pandemic

This essay discusses the challenges facing research on the politics of the covid pandemic by reviewing studies focusing on how regime type affected the nature and effectiveness of covid responses both by governments and the broader public, and how these responses, in turn, have shaped the politics of both democratic and authoritarian regimes. The essay highlights the importance of accounting for the changing nature of the pandemic over time, and of thinking carefully about the scope conditions of covid-related arguments and findings.