From Securitisation to Ignorance in a Populist Neoliberal State: A Process Tracing Study of COVID-19 Emergency Governance in Poland

Mateusz Krępa () and Marta Jaroszewicz ()
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Mateusz Krępa: University of Warsaw
Marta Jaroszewicz: University of Warsaw

Public Organization Review, 2025, vol. 25, issue 3, No 25, 1365 pages

Abstract: Abstract The article offers a single case study of emergency governance during the COVID-19 pandemic in Poland. Using Interpretative Process Tracing, the paper studies how it became possible for decision makers to drastically change their interpretation concerning restrictions to mobility. The sources contain official documents, political speeches, and twenty-eight expert interviews. The paper concludes that in March 2020 the main mechanism manifested in the decision makers’ interpretations of the emergency was the securitisation of all human mobility, while in November 2021 this was replaced with state ignorance in pursuit of legitimacy through instrumental exploitation of uncertainty and intentional lack of knowledge.

Keywords: Emergency governance; COVID-19; Poland; Securitisation; Ignorance (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2025
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DOI: 10.1007/s11115-025-00858-5

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