The Organisation of Irresponsibility?
Reassessing COVID-19 in Europe
Will be published approx. on 18. December 2026
Book
Paperback/Softback
235 pages
979-8-88890-921-8 (ISBN)
Description
This volume shows how post-neoliberal states and governing classes were unequal to the historical moment of COVID-19, learning little about how to adapt to wider political, socio-economic, and ecological challenges.
The COVID-19 pandemic challenged us to rethink how contemporary states navigate crises. But despite the extraordinary transformations of 2020-22, existing inequalities and power imbalances proved remarkably resilient. Bringing together critical perspectives, the book highlights how decision-making, leadership, and policy responses were inseparable from political power structures and societal contexts. The volume shows how crisis governance is actively contested, resisted, and shaped by social groups - and how social cleavages are either deepened or challenged in times of crisis.
The COVID-19 pandemic challenged us to rethink how contemporary states navigate crises. But despite the extraordinary transformations of 2020-22, existing inequalities and power imbalances proved remarkably resilient. Bringing together critical perspectives, the book highlights how decision-making, leadership, and policy responses were inseparable from political power structures and societal contexts. The volume shows how crisis governance is actively contested, resisted, and shaped by social groups - and how social cleavages are either deepened or challenged in times of crisis.
More details
Language
English
Place of publication
Chicago
United States
Product notice
Paperback (trade)
Illustrations
Illustrations
Dimensions
Height: 228 mm
Width: 152 mm
ISBN-13
979-8-88890-921-8 (9798888909218)
Copyright in bibliographic data is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or its licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Persons
Ewan Kerr is a Research Associate at the University of Glasgow, UK. A political sociologist, his most recent articles have been published in Scottish Affairs, Critical Sociology, The Political Quarterly, and Economic and Industrial Democracy.
Emina Buzinkic is a postdoctoral researcher at the Institute for Development and International Relations, Croatia. Her work on refugee racialization, migrant labour, and transnational solidarities appears in various journals. She is a member of AGITATE! Unsettling Knowledges editorial collective.
James Foley is a senior lecturer in politics at Glasgow Caledonian University. He is the UK PI of the ENDURE project and the author of several books on Scottish and British politics in the context of debates about globalisation and nationalism.
Emina Buzinkic is a postdoctoral researcher at the Institute for Development and International Relations, Croatia. Her work on refugee racialization, migrant labour, and transnational solidarities appears in various journals. She is a member of AGITATE! Unsettling Knowledges editorial collective.
James Foley is a senior lecturer in politics at Glasgow Caledonian University. He is the UK PI of the ENDURE project and the author of several books on Scottish and British politics in the context of debates about globalisation and nationalism.
Content
List of Figures and Tables
Notes on Contributors
1 Preface: The Organisation of Irresponsibility? COVID-19 and the Governance of State-Society Relations in Europe
?Ewan Kerr, Emina Buzinkic and James Foley
2 The Management of Accountability: State Transformation and Class Politics in Scotland's COVID-19 Response ?Ewan Kerr and James Foley
3 Entangled Crises and Anti-systemic Mobilisations in Germany
?Christian Froehlich and Mihai Varga
4 Protest Movements in Pandemics: Dynamics of 4C Social Responses to COVID-19 Governance in Poland ?Wojciech Ufel, Anna Cichecka and Mateusz Karolak
5 Governing through Crisis: Racialised Exception and Securitisation in Croatia's COVID-19 Response ?Emina Buzinkic and Senada Selo Sabic
6 The Struggle over Masks on Twitter: an AC/DT Approach to Finnish Pandemic Governance
?Juha Koljonen, Kleber Carrilho, and Emilia Palonen
7 Bottom-Up Governance in Times of Crisis: Informal Practices and Migrant Agency in Germany's Assyrian Community during COVID-19 ?Soner Barthoma
8 Managing Crises through Deepening Inequalities: the Neoliberal Labour Politics of the Turkish State during the COVID-19 Pandemic ?Erdem Damar
9 CODA: COVID-19 - a Neoliberal Pandemic
?Alfredo Saad Filho
Index
Notes on Contributors
1 Preface: The Organisation of Irresponsibility? COVID-19 and the Governance of State-Society Relations in Europe
?Ewan Kerr, Emina Buzinkic and James Foley
2 The Management of Accountability: State Transformation and Class Politics in Scotland's COVID-19 Response ?Ewan Kerr and James Foley
3 Entangled Crises and Anti-systemic Mobilisations in Germany
?Christian Froehlich and Mihai Varga
4 Protest Movements in Pandemics: Dynamics of 4C Social Responses to COVID-19 Governance in Poland ?Wojciech Ufel, Anna Cichecka and Mateusz Karolak
5 Governing through Crisis: Racialised Exception and Securitisation in Croatia's COVID-19 Response ?Emina Buzinkic and Senada Selo Sabic
6 The Struggle over Masks on Twitter: an AC/DT Approach to Finnish Pandemic Governance
?Juha Koljonen, Kleber Carrilho, and Emilia Palonen
7 Bottom-Up Governance in Times of Crisis: Informal Practices and Migrant Agency in Germany's Assyrian Community during COVID-19 ?Soner Barthoma
8 Managing Crises through Deepening Inequalities: the Neoliberal Labour Politics of the Turkish State during the COVID-19 Pandemic ?Erdem Damar
9 CODA: COVID-19 - a Neoliberal Pandemic
?Alfredo Saad Filho
Index