COVID-19, Public Management, and Survival of East European Democracies

James W. Peterson and Bonnie Peterson provide an insightful and timely analysis of the state of public management in Eastern Europe through the lens of policy responses to the COVID-19 pandemic. The authors artfully set the stage through an exploration of democratic practices, citizen trust in government, levels of corruption, and the rise of authoritarianism and populism. Case studies of the governmental response to the pandemic highlight key regional differences in Eastern Europe as well the importance of trust, accountability, and transparency in how these nations responded. This text makes an important contribution to our understanding of comparative politics, public policy formation, and public administration during a 100-year pandemic.

The COVID-19 pandemic affected our world in ways we are only now beginning to understand. In this important new book, the authors combine their expertise in political science and public administration to examine the impact of the pandemic on the fledgling democracies of Eastern, East Central, and Southeastern Europe. They find that while the public health crisis posed a challenge to democratic institutions and practices in all countries of the region--as it did elsewhere in Europe and the democratic world--the impact, and response to the pandemic, varied according to the pre-crisis strength of democracy in the fourteen states that are examined. This book combines a broad comparative analysis of the post-communist democracies with more detailed case studies of the Baltic, East Central Europe, and Balkan regions.