Overview

In a democracy, the legitimacy of authority derives from the consent of the governed. Constitutions or long-standing norms typically impose constraints on government authority, but under extraordinary circumstances—emergencies—normal and procedural standards can be overridden or suspended. Such was the case when the COVID-19 pandemic erupted in the spring of 2020. This book describes the emergency powers that existed in the American states at the start of the pandemic; shows how such powers were implemented; examines how courts, legislatures, and public opinion responded to the use of emergency powers; and considers the resulting tensions they exert on democratic governance.Contributors provide a background on the legal justification for emergency powers and offer summaries of the executive orders that were in effect as of mid-2020 across the United States and its territories, with special attention paid to California and Texas. They also review public attitudes about the dangers of the coronavirus and appropriate responses to it, and raise further questions about emergency powers and democratic governance—questions that deserve serious consideration before the next emergency prompts another exercise of such powers.

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9780817925253

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Reviews

Who governs the US in an emergency, and with what limits and authority? This fascinating study shows the answer is not simple. . . . A pathbreaking guide to what likely will be a recurrent problem in American politics. --Jack Goldstone, Hazel Professor of Public Policy, George Mason University Describing the crazy quilt of state and local emergency powers, their problematic definitions, and the questions of accountability and representation, Who Governs convincingly makes the case for rethinking how and when we employ emergency powers. --Henry E. Brady, Professor of Political Science and Public Policy, University of California-Berkeley Officials have invoked extraordinary emergency powers that most of us did not know they even had, at the cost of democratic accountability. . . . Will government by emergency decree become the new normal? --Michael W. McConnell, Richard & Frances Mallery Professor, Stanford Law School, and director, Stanford Constitutional Law Center

Author Information

Morris P. Fiorina is the Wendt Family Professor of Political Science at Stanford University and a senior fellow of the Hoover Institution. His most recent book was Unstable Majorities (Hoover Institution Press, 2017).

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