Democracy in Pandemic Times

The COVID-19 has thrown into doubt much of the conventional wisdom on the functioning of representative democracy in hard times. On the one hand, we have seen decision makers across EU member states have opted for various preventive measures to limit – or freeze – economic, social and political activities. On the other hand, the pandemic politics have taken place against the backdrop of unprecedented stimulation of the economy, both on the part of national governments and the European Commission. This project aims to examine how the pandemic has affected representative democracy both at the national and European level, and how these dynamics compares with the previous – global financial crisis and sovereign debt – crises.