In the coronvirus crisis, authoritarian governments have shown the brittleness of their power while democracies have revealed their innate resilience.
The COVID-19 pandemic has intensified the debate over whether authoritarian states are gaining the upper hand across the world. Although there are plenty of signs that strongmen leaders have used the crisis to try to tighten their grip on power, the coronavirus has revealed the vulnerabilities of autocracies rather than their strength. In contrast, democracies are showing their capacity for innovation and adaptation, as one would expect, and signs of renewal, as one would hope.
In contrast, the archetypal authoritarian state, China, where the virus first appeared, seems to have weathered the storm well. The Chinese government was able to deploy the draconian powers of its centralized, unitary decision-making structure to impose a harsh lock-down in Hubei province that halted the spread of the virus across the country, even if the number of deaths in China from the virus is likely to be far higher than official figures.
Democracies have also revealed their innate resilience and adaptability. COVID-19 is driving democratic political systems to become more accountable and responsive.Centralized systems like that of Britain have had to cede more political control to the regional governments; Taiwan is showing how its commitment to protecting individual democratic rights can be applied successfully to voluntary health surveillance; and Germany has drawn on the strength of its federal governance system.
Other authoritarian states are faring worse. Russia is now coping with its own full-blown COVID crisis, while Iran has nearly 130,000 confirmed infections and a still rising death rate. President Putin’s focus on recovering Russia’s position as a great power has been at the expense of socio-economic investment, leaving the country’s health system struggling to manage the crisis. His popularity has fallen to the lowest level since he became president in 2000.
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