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A "Democratic State of Exception": The corona virus controversy in Germany (February to May 2020)

Grant number: unknown

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Key facts

  • Disease

    COVID-19

  • start year

    2020

  • Funder

    Volkswagen Stiftung

  • Principal Investigator

    Dr and Prof Dr Hagen Schölzel, Andre Brodocz

  • Research Location

    Germany

  • Lead Research Institution

    Universität Jena

  • Research Priority Alignment

    N/A

  • Research Category

    Policies for public health, disease control & community resilience

  • Research Subcategory

    Approaches to public health interventions

  • Special Interest Tags

    N/A

  • Study Type

    Non-Clinical

  • Clinical Trial Details

    N/A

  • Broad Policy Alignment

    Pending

  • Age Group

    Not Applicable

  • Vulnerable Population

    Not applicable

  • Occupations of Interest

    Not applicable

Abstract

The project aims at answering the question, in which way the 'state of exception' is rolled out and is overcome in a democratic public debate. A mapping of the corona virus controversy in Germany between February and May 2020 shows the key elements of the 'democratic state of exception': (a) a highly uncertain matter of concern, which science cannot (yet) settle, (b) the articulated urgency to decide crisis-related issues and to integrate manifold expectations, (c) the relevance of time to adequately deal with controversial issues, and (d) the disputed transition towards a new normal situation. Beyond the single case of the corona crisis controversy in Germany, the concept of the 'democratic state of exception' will be useful as a script for handling further crises in a democratic way and may help to overcome the widely debated classic concepts of the 'state of exception' as a sovereign, authoritarian rule in cases of existential concern.