Presidents are facing unforeseen challenges worldwide. The coronavirus pandemic and its impacts have escalated rapidly, fueling panic among citizens and investors, and pressured the Chief Executives of governments for timely and effective responses.

Not surprisingly, this exceptional situation requires emergency legislation from the Executive branches and all countries have resorted to these measures, unilateral or not, to cope with the coronavirus pandemic.  Crises like this one strengthen the Executive leadership in overcoming their disastrous effects, modifying the dynamics of inter-branch relations and of government oversight. How the coronavirus crisis affects or modifies the functioning of checks and balances and the decision-making process are particularly relevant for securing the right balance between public protection and civil liberties. Therefore, this situation might not affect government actions only during the current crisis, but also how they use their powers, interact with other branches and hold themselves accountable afterward. While this emergency might fuel authoritarian surges and the erosion of democracy in some countries, institutions working as problem-solving agencies can positively renovate citizens’ expectations of democracy in other countries.

To track government responses to coronavirus outbreak, PEX-network has invited an exceptional team of political scientists to analyze how the chief executives are dealing with this emergency and the way that institutions work in the present and future. We will release these contributions soon! Follow this report available on: https://pex-network.com/category/special-reports/sr-2-coronavirus-outbreak-and-presidents-responses/—