This is the fourth and final episode in a podcast series featuring LEGITIMULT a project that examines how measures taken during the Covid-19 crisis by international, national, and subnational governments have affected multilevel institutions and intergovernmental relations.The aim of the research is to develop a model of legitimate crisis governance.
Elections are high-stakes and high-risk events. The high stakes are their role in ensuring the proper functioning of democratic institutions. The high risk is in the likelihood that electoral disputes can escalate into deep political crises, violent conflicts, and instability, harming governments' domestic and international legitimacy. Therefore, preparedness to protect elections in times of crisis is essential to safeguard democratic continuity, maintain public trust, and prevent the erosion of democratic institutions.
For a British citizen living in Sweden, the Covid-19 pandemic was very much a tale of two political cultures. On the one hand, the UK quickly imposed a lockdown without precedent, confining millions to their homes for months on end. On the other, Sweden kept to a light touch policy of allowing schools, shops and restaurants to remain open and even assuaging the use of face masks.
In this joint International IDEA and Electoral Integrity Project episode on ‘Elections
