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[ADRN Working Paper] Pandemic Crisis and Democratic Governance in South Asia - Part II

2021-07-21

ADRN Working Paper

Pandemic Crisis and Democratic Governance in South Asia
- Part II –

ADRN members from South Asia

- India & Bangladesh & Nepal & Sri Lanka & Pakistan –

The outbreak of COVID-19 has proven that new forms of threat can heavily affect the development of democracy as well as democratic practices. COVID-19 is not only a life-threatening issue; it is also evolving into a problem for the maintenance and promotion of democracy. In order to address this global issue, the Asia Democracy Research Network (ADRN) has been conducting research on the Pandemic Crisis and Democratic Governance based on country cases since 2020. EAI had published eleven working papers for the first part of this research project in March. This second part of the working paper is the updated version that includes any changes and updates that occurred. The third set of Part II working papers includes the cases of South Asia.

Country Case 7: India

Governance in India During Pandemic-Part II

Kaustuv Kanti Bandyopadhyay, director of Participatory Research in Asia (PRIA), and Kaustuv Chakrabarti state that repercussions from the pandemic in all domains of the country, encompassing the economy, public health, migrant populations, and dissent over the political system were very much present in the society. In this regard, the authors argue that significant developments in policy are indispensable.

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Country Case 8: Bangladesh

Pandemic Crisis and Democratic Governance in Bangladesh: An Analysis

Rezwan-ul-Alam, the Director of the Knowledge Management team at Manusher Jonno Foundation, points out that government plans of vaccine procurement have stirred controversy as this accomplishment was short-lived. Government responses have drawn backlash both domestically and internationally, which is attested by Bangladesh’ low performance in the Radar Chart of Varieties of Democracy.

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Country Case 9: Nepal

Crises in Nepal: Rise of the Pandemic and the Rise of Threat to Governance

Pradip Pariyar, Executive Chairperson of Samata Foundation, states that the Nepalese government’s response to the second wave was lacking in several ways to effectively combat against the situation. The author reinforces the importance of apt governance measures, economic compensation to the heavily affected and marginalized groups, and stronger medical infrastructure in combating national crises such as the COVID-19 pandemic.

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Country Case 10: Sri Lanka

Pandemic Crisis and Democratic Governance in Sri Lanka

The Centre for Policy Alternatives explains that the political landscape following the COVID-19 pandemic provided an environment conducive for democratic backsliding in Sri Lanka. While government plans to impose an island-wide lockdown and place restrictions on travel were initially successful during the first wave, they were inefficient to address the repercussions of the following two waves. Moving forward, the author claims that the country needs to put a halt to trends of de-democratization.

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Country Case 11: Pakistan

Pandemic Crisis and Democratic Governance in Pakistan

Aasiya Riaz, Joint Director at PILDAT, explains that Pakistan, which has been increasingly identified as a “hybrid regime” has not been an exception to the backsliding of democratic governance seen globally following the COVID-19 pandemic. The persistence of the “hybrid regime” has disclosed the weaknesses present in Pakistan’s democratic governance structure.

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