Governing decentralised States under emergency situations: Italy and the Netherlands during the Covid-19 crisis

Abstract

Even though State’s territorial distribution is connected to check and balances and grassroots democracy, contemporary governance is as much about limitation of power as it is about building state capacity and organizing power. If so, the Covid-19 pandemic represents an opportunity to rethink decentralisation: initial reports highlight the vertical functioning of the State as a significant variable for understanding the crisis’ management. This paper analyses this variable during the Covid-19 crisis in Italy and the Netherlands. The two countries share common elements of legal culture and public law institutions, yet their responses to the pandemic have been different. The dynamics between central and subnational authorities are
complex. Therefore, this calls for further assessment of the conditions that facilitate multilevel coordination and/or cooperation, without undermining local and regional autonomy.