Multi-level responses to COVID-19: crisis coordination in Germany from an intergovernmental perspective

This article is aimed at analysing local and intergovernmental responses to the COVID-19 pandemic in Germany during the 'first wave' of the pandemic. It will answer the question of how the intergovernmental system in Germany responded to the crisis and to what extent the pandemic has chang...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Local government studies 2022-03, Vol.48 (2), p.312-334
Main Authors: Kuhlmann, Sabine, Franzke, Jochen
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Coordination
Coronaviruses
COVID-19
Crises
crisis
Decision making
federalism
Governance
Ideal types
Intergovernmental relations
Local authorities
Management
Management of crises
multi-level governance
Pandemics
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Summary:This article is aimed at analysing local and intergovernmental responses to the COVID-19 pandemic in Germany during the 'first wave' of the pandemic. It will answer the question of how the intergovernmental system in Germany responded to the crisis and to what extent the pandemic has changed patterns of multi-level governance (MLG). The article argues that the coordination of pandemic management in Germany shifted between two ideal types of multi-level governance. While in the first phase of the pandemic the territorially defined multi-level system with the sub-national and local authorities as key actors of crisis management was predominant, in the second phase a more functional orientation with increased vertical coordination gained in importance. Later on, more reliance was given again on local decision-making. Based on this analysis, we will draw some preliminary conclusions on how effective MLG in Germany has been for coordinating pandemic management and point out the shortcomings.
ISSN:0300-3930
1743-9388
DOI:10.1080/03003930.2021.1904398