The COVID-19 pandemic not only ravaged human bodies but also had profound and possibly enduring effects on the health of political and legal systems, economies and societies. Almost overnight, governments imposed the severest restrictions in modern times on rights and freedoms, elections, parliaments and courts. Legal and political institutions struggled to adapt, creating a catalyst for democratic decline and catastrophic increases in poverty and inequality. This handbook analyses the global pandemic response through five themes: governance and democracy; human rights; the rule of law; science, public trust and decision making; and states of emergency and exception. Containing 12 thematic commentaries and 25 chapters on countries of diverse size, wealth and experience of COVID-19, it represents the combined effort of more than 50 contributors, including leading scholars and rising voices in the fields of constitutional, international, public health, human rights and comparative law, as well as political science, and science and technology studies. Taking stock after the onset of global emergency, this book provides essential analysis for politicians, policy-makers, jurists, civil society organisations, academics, students and practitioners at both national and international level on the best, and most concerning, practices adopted in response to COVID-19 – and key insights into how states and multilateral institutions should reform, adapt and prepare for future emergencies.

The rule of law represents the heart of constitutionalism. Public power can only be legitimately exercised if it is based on and complies with the law. The Constitution and its fundamental values – human dignity, freedom and equality – are the ultimate sources of orientation for the rule of law. Domestic rule of law is complemented by its external dimension, the duty to respect international law and, for EU member states, supranational law. For the World Jurist Association, the realization of the Rule of Law has been the central concern since its founding more than 60 years ago. Its biennial world congresses, which bring together leading figures from politics, the judiciary and academia under the presidency of Javier Cremades, focus on the universal importance of the rule of law, which experts from numerous countries discuss on the basis of current problem areas. At the 2021 World Law Congress in Barranquilla, Colombia, one central topic was the tension between combating pandemics and the rule of law. The contributions gathered here examine how this challenge was met in political-legal practice, and the role of constitutional jurisdiction in the process. They analyze and evaluate the legal situation in numerous countries in Europe and Latin America. In addition, they reflect on fundamental issues, such as the concept of the rule of law, its relationship to democracy, its universal character and its implementation via jurisprudence.

Two of America's leading national security experts offer a definitive account of the global impact of COVID-19 and the political shock waves it will have on the United States and the world order in the 21st Century. “Informed by history, reporting, and a truly global perspective, this is an indispensable first draft of history and blueprint for how we can move forward.” —Ben Rhodes The COVID-19 pandemic killed millions, infected hundreds of millions, and laid bare the deep vulnerabilities and inequalities of our interconnected world. The accompanying economic crash was the worst since the Great Depression, with the International Monetary Fund estimating that it will cost over $22 trillion in global wealth over the next few years. Over two decades of progress in reducing extreme poverty was erased, just in the space of a few months. Already fragile states in every corner of the globe were further hollowed out. The brewing clash between the United States and China boiled over and the worldwide contest between democracy and authoritarianism deepened. It was a truly global crisis necessitating a collective response—and yet international cooperation almost entirely broke down, with key world leaders hardly on speaking terms. Colin Kahl and Thomas Wright's Aftershocks offers a riveting and comprehensive account of one of the strangest and most consequential years on record. Drawing on interviews with officials from around the world and extensive research, the authors tell the story of how nationalism and major power rivalries constrained the response to the worst pandemic in a century. They demonstrate the myriad ways in which the crisis exposed the limits of the old international order and how the reverberations from COVID-19 will be felt for years to come.

Shifting power balances in the world are shaking the foundations of the liberal international order and revealing new fault lines at the intersection of human rights and international security. Will these new global trends help or hinder the world's long struggle for human rights and democracy? The answer depends on the role of five rising democracies—India, Brazil, South Africa, Turkey, and Indonesia—as both examples and supporters of liberal ideas and practices. Ted Piccone analyzes the transitions of these five democracies as their stars rise on the international stage. While they offer important and mainly positive examples of the compatibility of political liberties, economic growth, and human development, their foreign policies swing between interest-based strategic autonomy and a principled concern for democratic progress and human rights. In a multipolar world, the fate of the liberal international order depends on how they reconcile these tendencies.

Why are Americans so angry with each other? The United States is caught in a partisan hyperconflict that divides politicians, communities--and even families. Politicians from the president to state and local office-holders play to strongly-held beliefs and sometimes even pour fuel on the resulting inferno. This polarization has become so intense that many people no longer trust anyone from a differing perspective. Drawing on his personal story of growing up as a fundamentalist Christian on a dairy farm in rural Ohio, then as an academic in the heart of the liberal East Coast establishment, Darrell West analyzes the economic, cultural, and political aspects of polarization. He takes advantage of his experiences inside both conservative and liberal camps to explain the views of each side and offer insights into why each is angry with the other. West argues that societal tensions have metastasized into a dangerous tribalism that seriously threatens U.S. democracy. Unless people can bridge these divisions and forge a new path forward, it will be impossible to work together, maintain a functioning democracy, and solve the country's pressing policy problems.

Traditionally, legitimacy has been associated exclusively with states. But are states actually legitimate? And in light of the legalization of international norms why should discussions of legitimacy focus only on the nation-state? The essays in this collection examine the nature of legitimacy, the legitimacy of the state, and the legitimacy of supranational institutions. The collection begins by asking: What sort of problem is legitimacy? Part I considers competing theories, in particular the work of John Rawls. Part II looks at the legitimacy of state apparatus, its institutions, officials, and the rule of law, and the future of state sovereignty. Part III expands the scope of legitimacy beyond the state to supranational institutions and international law. Written by theorists of considerable standing, the essays in this volume will be of interest to students and scholars of law, politics, and philosophy looking for ways of approaching the problem of how extra-territorial affairs affect a state's written and unwritten agreements with its citizens in a world where laws and norms with legal effect are increasingly made beyond the state.

Contemporary monetary institutions are flawed at a foundational level. The reigning paradigm in monetary policy holds up constrained discretion as the preferred operating framework for central banks. But no matter how smart or well-intentioned are central bankers, discretionary policy contains information and incentive problems that make macroeconomic stability systematically unlikely. Furthermore, central bank discretion implicitly violates the basic jurisprudential norms of liberal democracy. Drawing on a wide body of scholarship, this volume presents a novel argument in favor of embedding monetary institutions into a rule of law framework. The authors argue for general, predictable rules to provide a sturdier foundation for economic growth and prosperity. A rule of law approach to monetary policy would remedy the flaws that resulted in misguided monetary responses to the 2007-8 financial crisis and the COVID-19 pandemic. Understanding the case for true monetary rules is the first step toward creating more stable monetary institutions.