Crisis Management: Government Responses to COVID-19 Explained by Experts

With the COVID-19 pandemic’s impact being felt in every area of American life, it is more important than ever to provide rigorous research to inform reporting on this crisis. To meet this growing need, Scholars Strategy Network has compiled a list of scholars who are available to be contacted for comments and analysis. Below are the scholars who can comment on how governments - particularly state and local governments - manage crises.

You can connect with all researchers available to comment on the COVID-19 pandemic here.

University of Memphis

“Local and state governments have been chronically underfunded in recent decades, particularly in the area of public health. Intergovernmental funding and deployment of critical equipment will be necessary to help them respond to severe cases, and collaboration between localities and broad communication of effective policies will be markers of success during this emerging disaster.”

Kent State University at Kent

"We have seen unprecedented measures enacted by state and local governments during this crisis. While we can celebrate their swift actions to ensure public health, it is important that we keep a close eye on the ways in which these actions will impact local democracy in the long term—these “short term” changes will have long term political implications."

Loyola University New Orleans
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"One of my areas of expertise is crime and disaster. While COVID-19 does not qualify as a disaster, is it nevertheless an example of what Kai Erikson calls “a new species of trouble” that forces us to think more broadly about human behavior in times like these and to apply the relevant findings from scholarship in similar areas. Crimes that typically follow in the wake of (some) disasters include burglary, interpersonal violence (particularly domestic violence and child abuse), drug use, and especially fraud."

Massachusetts Institute of Technology

Tsai examines issues of accountability, governance, and political participation.

CUNY Graduate School and University Center
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“We are witnessing a gradual militarization of US response to the COVID-19 pandemic, with spikes like the new National Guard Title 10 deployments. This militarization began immediately: state governors publicly spoke about imposing martial law. Then we heard our Commander-in-Chief’s declaration of ‘War on Coronavirus.’ Our government is now ‘deploying’ troops to fight a domestic ‘war’ on a virus. There are many new political needs and opportunities within this crisis, which we must work together to actualize.”