South Africa's invocation of its Disaster Management Act in response to the outbreak of the novel Corona virus, Covid-19, presents a clear juncture in its contemporary Constitutional order. The ways in which power functions and the dynamics and signification it conveys are central to how the state is commanded and how law is communicated. Under the State of Disaster, an abnormality assumes dominance. The techniques of power that are mandated under the Act charges the Executive to directly confront Covid-19, the named enemy and scapegoat. The presence of both the normative Constitutional order and an exception, following Carl Schmitt, creates an uneasy synthesis. It requires the Executive to claim authority. Yet, with the Act invoked in terms of Constitution and thereby the people remaining sovereign, Executive power remains stunted. This study of South Africa’s response to Covid-19 highlights the unresolved tensions present when Constitutional democracies declare emergencies. The Disaster sees South Africa enter a situation whereby it is confronted with unprecedented legal and political challenges. Its response conjures existential questions regarding its political development and legal structures.

南非针对新型电晕病毒Covid-19的爆发而援引了《灾难管理法》，这在其当代宪法秩序中是一个明显的契机。权力运作的方式以及权力所传达的动力和含义，对于国家如何被命令以及法律如何传达至关重要。在灾难状态下，异常占主导地位。该法规定的权力技巧要求行政机关直接面对被称为敌人和替罪羊的Covid-19。卡尔·史密特之后，既有规范的宪法秩序又有例外，这造成了不容易的综合。它要求执行者要求授权。然而，随着根据宪法援引该法令，从而使人民仍然拥有主权，行政权仍然受到阻碍。这项针对南非对Covid-19的回应的研究突显了宪政民主国家宣布紧急状态时目前尚未解决的紧张局势。灾难使南非陷入一种前所未有的法律和政治挑战的局面。它的回应让人想到有关其政治发展和法律结构的存在性问题。