Systemic Effects of Crises on Policy-Making in Modern Democracies

Introduction

CRISPOL analyzes the systemic impact of crises on democratic policy-making. The fact that crises have turned into ordinary rather than exceptional phenomena in modern democracies may not only erode trust in government. Crises also spawn additional crises.

Impact of Crises

Because crisis responses absorb governmental attention, problems in policy areas not affected by crises might be neglected. This can in turn lead to the escalation of neglected issues into full-blown crises, thus increasing the burden on governments to manage an ever-growing number of crises. Crises might thus trigger a vicious cycle that undermines democratic legitimacy.

Objectives of CRISPOL

It is the central objective of CRISPOL to study systemic trade-offs in policy change across sectors resulting from crisis events both theoretically and empirically.

Mapping Crises

1. CRISPOL maps crises across policy areas, countries, and over time.
   It provides an encompassing long-term mapping of crisis events across different policy sectors and countries. The project captures all crisis events across six policy areas for 23 OECD countries over a period of 50 years.

Analyzing Cross-Sectoral Trade-offs

2. CRISPOL analyzes cross-sectoral trade-offs in crisis-induced dynamics of policy change.
   Can we observe crowding-out effects, with radical departures from the status quo in ‘crisis-proximate’ areas coming at the expense of policy inertia in more ‘crisis-remote’ ones?

Analyzing Cross-Temporal Trade-offs

3. CRISPOL analyzes cross-temporal trade-offs in change dynamics.
   Are neglected policy sectors catching up when the crisis is over; i.e., is policy inertia during crisis times offset by more dynamic change in post-crisis periods? Or do crises have enduring consequences for change dynamics in crisis-remote sectors?

Investigating Variations Across Countries

4. CRISPOL investigates whether cross-sectoral and cross-temporal trade-offs vary across countries.
   Do certain countries possess a greater capacity to handle crises while simultaneously addressing other policy areas, and which factors contribute to this ability?