The Perilous Mix of Populism and Pandemics: Lessons from COVID-19
Populist leaders have consistently rejected evidence-based policies in responding to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. They acted later and with less intensity than non-populists in implementing public health measures such as physical distancing, lockdowns, and developing public health data sets. We de...
| Main Authors: | , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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MDPI AG
2023-06-01
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| Series: | Social Sciences |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2076-0760/12/7/383 |
| _version_ | 1797587438685650944 |
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| author | Michael Touchton Felicia Marie Knaul Timothy McDonald Julio Frenk |
| author_facet | Michael Touchton Felicia Marie Knaul Timothy McDonald Julio Frenk |
| author_sort | Michael Touchton |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Populist leaders have consistently rejected evidence-based policies in responding to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. They acted later and with less intensity than non-populists in implementing public health measures such as physical distancing, lockdowns, and developing public health data sets. We describe the responses of ten large countries with populist leadership at the onset of the pandemic (Brazil, Hungary, India, Mexico, the Philippines, Poland, Russia, Turkey, the United Kingdom, and the United States). Together, these countries account for a disproportionately large number of cases and deaths associated with COVID-19 relative to their population. We categorize the policy responses into two types: (1) slow and ineffective, and (2) strict and illiberal. We conclude that while not all countries that responded poorly to the pandemic were led by populists, no countries with populist leadership performed well in either applying public health measures or achieving desirable health outcomes. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-11T00:38:57Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-457a8011ddb64b63b2766948503c16fd |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2076-0760 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-11T00:38:57Z |
| publishDate | 2023-06-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Social Sciences |
| spelling | doaj.art-457a8011ddb64b63b2766948503c16fd2023-11-18T21:22:04ZengMDPI AGSocial Sciences2076-07602023-06-0112738310.3390/socsci12070383The Perilous Mix of Populism and Pandemics: Lessons from COVID-19Michael Touchton0Felicia Marie Knaul1Timothy McDonald2Julio Frenk3Associate Professor of Political Science, College of Arts and Sciences, University of Miami, Coral Gables, FL 33146, USADirector, College of Arts and Sciences, Institute for Advanced Study of the Americas, University of Miami; Coral Gables, FL 33146, USAResearcher, Health Systems Division, RAND Corporation, Washington, DC 22202, USADepartment of Public Health, College of Arts and Sciences, Miller School of Medicine, University of Miami; Coral Gables, FL 33146, USAPopulist leaders have consistently rejected evidence-based policies in responding to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. They acted later and with less intensity than non-populists in implementing public health measures such as physical distancing, lockdowns, and developing public health data sets. We describe the responses of ten large countries with populist leadership at the onset of the pandemic (Brazil, Hungary, India, Mexico, the Philippines, Poland, Russia, Turkey, the United Kingdom, and the United States). Together, these countries account for a disproportionately large number of cases and deaths associated with COVID-19 relative to their population. We categorize the policy responses into two types: (1) slow and ineffective, and (2) strict and illiberal. We conclude that while not all countries that responded poorly to the pandemic were led by populists, no countries with populist leadership performed well in either applying public health measures or achieving desirable health outcomes.https://www.mdpi.com/2076-0760/12/7/383COVID-19governancepopulismhealth policyhealth systemstewardship |
| spellingShingle | Michael Touchton Felicia Marie Knaul Timothy McDonald Julio Frenk The Perilous Mix of Populism and Pandemics: Lessons from COVID-19 Social Sciences COVID-19 governance populism health policy health system stewardship |
| title | The Perilous Mix of Populism and Pandemics: Lessons from COVID-19 |
| title_full | The Perilous Mix of Populism and Pandemics: Lessons from COVID-19 |
| title_fullStr | The Perilous Mix of Populism and Pandemics: Lessons from COVID-19 |
| title_full_unstemmed | The Perilous Mix of Populism and Pandemics: Lessons from COVID-19 |
| title_short | The Perilous Mix of Populism and Pandemics: Lessons from COVID-19 |
| title_sort | perilous mix of populism and pandemics lessons from covid 19 |
| topic | COVID-19 governance populism health policy health system stewardship |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2076-0760/12/7/383 |
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