Organising irresponsibility: pandemic management, state transformation and the diversion of class politics in Scotland’s COVID-19 response

James Foley, Ewan Kerr*

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

1 Citation (Scopus)
34 Downloads (Pure)

Abstract

The COVID-19 lockdowns rank as the most abrupt and consequential transformations in modern state-society relations outside of wartime. One enduring puzzle of this period is the convergence of policy responses during COVID-19, despite the diffusion of power and sovereignty that has accompanied the emergence of multilevel governance paradigms. We investigate this by examining the politics of pandemic management in the context of Scotland’s devolved relationship with the United Kingdom. The paper draws on interview data with governance officials and analysis of devolved policy literature to show that presentational differences between Holyrood and Westminster’s responses to COVID-19 disguised substantive similarities in interventions and outcomes. It argues that these stylistic conflicts served to channel and offset class-based grievances and epitomise the organisation of irresponsibility: the power to disclaim accountability. This reflects the dysfunctional tension between levels of multilevel governance that incentivise superficial conflicts over scale and jurisdiction while dispersing and diffusing responsibility.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)193-211
Number of pages19
JournalCritical Sociology
Volume51
Issue number1
Early online date3 Jun 2024
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - Jan 2025

Keywords

  • class conflict
  • COVID-19
  • crisis governance
  • devolution and multilevel governance
  • state transformations

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Sociology and Political Science

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