Political science and COVID-19

Abstract

The COVID-19 pandemic has created a ramifying political, public health and economic crisis throughout many countries in the world. While globally the pandemic is at different stages and far from under control in some countries, now is the time for public health researchers and political scientists to start understanding how and why governments responded the way they have, explore how effective these responses appear to be, and what lessons we can draw about effective public health policymaking in preparation of the next wave of COVID-19 or the next infectious disease pandemic. However good the science, it won’t tackle a pandemic alone – you need good politics too. Policy decisions are inherently complex and require a huge number of factors to be synthesized into a course of action. With COVID-19 this might be the science of containing the virus with the long-term health, social and economic consequences of an extended lockdown, and judgements on the extent to which the public will tolerate restrictions. These aren’t questions that have a definite answer. They can be informed, but not determined, by science. This review highlights about the importance of political science and COVID-19.