COVID-19 and Legislative Activity: A Cross-National Study

15 Pages Posted: 2 Jul 2020

See all articles by Israel Waismel-Manor

Israel Waismel-Manor

University of Haifa

Ittai Bar-Siman-Tov

Bar-Ilan University Law Faculty

Olivier Rozenberg

Sciences Po

Asaf Levanon

University of Haifa

Cyril Benoît

Sciences Po

Gal Ifergane

Ben-Gurion University of the Negev

Date Written: July 2, 2020

Abstract

Insufficient attention has been given to studying a vital organ jeopardized by COVID-19: legislatures. Legislatures across the globe have been shut down or limited due to COVID-19. In a comprehensive multidisciplinary study, exploring legislatures across 159 countries, we show that there is no causal relation between the severity of COVID-19 and limitations on legislatures’ operation. This suggests that legislatures are at risk of being shut down either due to unfounded fear from COVID-19 or as an excuse for silencing legislatures. We find that legislatures in healthy democracies are relatively immune to this risk, while those in frail democracies and authoritarian regimes are more at risk of becoming casualties of COVID-19. In partially free countries, the use of technology can mitigate this risk.

Keywords: COVID-19; Coronavirus; parliaments; legislatures; legislative activity

Suggested Citation

Waismel-Manor, Israel and Bar-Siman-Tov, Ittai and Rozenberg, Olivier and Levanon, Asaf and Benoît, Cyril and Ifergane, Gal, COVID-19 and Legislative Activity: A Cross-National Study (July 2, 2020). Bar Ilan University Faculty of Law Research Paper No. 20-12, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=3641824 or http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.3641824

Israel Waismel-Manor

University of Haifa ( email )

Mount Carmel
Haifa, 31905
Israel

Ittai Bar-Siman-Tov (Contact Author)

Bar-Ilan University Law Faculty ( email )

Faculty of Law
Ramat Gan, 52900
Israel
972-3-7387071 (Phone)
972-3-7384096 (Fax)

HOME PAGE: http://law.biu.ac.il/en/node/1726#tabs-tabset-1

Olivier Rozenberg

Sciences Po ( email )

28 Rue des Saint-Peres
Paris, Paris 75006
France

Asaf Levanon

University of Haifa ( email )

Mount Carmel
Haifa, 31905
Israel

Cyril Benoît

Sciences Po ( email )

28 Rue des Saint-Peres
Paris, Paris 75006
France

Gal Ifergane

Ben-Gurion University of the Negev ( email )

1 Ben-Gurion Blvd
Beer-Sheba 84105, 84105
Israel

Do you have negative results from your research you’d like to share?

Paper statistics

Downloads
305
Abstract Views
2,638
Rank
181,711
PlumX Metrics