Veronica Anghel
It is three years since the World Health Organisation declared Covid-19 a pandemic, on 11 March 2020. Veronica Anghel conducts a retrospective analysis of the impact of the health crisis, from all social scientific perspectives. Did political science rise to the challenge? Read more
Abbey Heffer
Authoritarian regimes are not centralised monoliths. In China, authoritarian responses to protest can differ dramatically across localities. Abbey Heffer argues that research on regime-level authoritarianism often overlooks decentralisation. Studying aspects of authoritarianism, such as protest repression and concessions, requires a practice-based approach that reconciles national and localised authoritarianism Read more
Rongxin Li
China has adopted a zero-case approach to the coronacrisis. But, writes Rongxin Li, China’s policies, while claiming to be in the interests of its citizens, show a lack of democratic anchoring, sacrificing civil rights and procedural justice Read more
Balázs Böcskei
Balázs Böcskei and Eszter Farkas analyse the influence of partisan alignment on public health issues related to coronavirus. Their findings suggest that even in such a highly polarised country as Hungary, the significance of the pandemic over time is suppressing the influence of party alignment on Covid-related issues Read more
Martin Bull
Protests have broken out in Rome against the extension of Italy’s Covid Green Pass to the workplace. They quickly deteriorated into violence and assault, exploited by the fascist group Forza Nuova. This, argues Martin Bull, has reignited the debate about Italy’s fascist heritage, and led to calls on Prime Minister Draghi to dissolve the group Read more
Samuel Brazys
China seeks to control the international narrative on its role in the pandemic. But while Beijing cannot always deflect criticism, its mask diplomacy efforts and external propaganda streams do affect China’s image, write Samuel Brazys, Alexander Dukalskis and Stefan Müller Read more
Stefano Braghiroli
The EU has activated a Covid recovery package worth a staggering €672.5 billion. Observers focus on the role of European capitals, inter-governmental institutions, and the European Commission's coordinating role in delivering it. Yet, argues Stefano Braghiroli, we shouldn't ignore the role of the European Parliament... Read more
Carolina Plescia
Interest in postal voting has increased during the pandemic as a means to avoid in-person contact. But exactly who is choosing to vote by mail? Carolina Plescia, Semra Sevi and André Blais find that the biggest cleavage in US citizen preferences about how to vote is generational, not ideological Read more
