The COVID-19 pandemic has not only caused millions to die and even more to lose their jobs, it has also prompted more governments to simultaneously declare a state of emergency than ever before enabling us to compare their decisions more directly. States of emergency usually imply the extension of executive powers that diminishes the powers of other branches of government, as well as to the civil liberties of individuals. Here, we analyze the use of emergency provisions during the first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic and find that it can be largely explained by drawing on political economy. It does, hence, not constitute an exception. We show that many governments have (mis-)used the pandemic as a pretext to curtail media freedom. We further show that executive decrees are considered as a substitute for states of emergency by many governments.

COVID-19 大流行不仅导致数百万人死亡，甚至更多人失业，还促使更多政府同时宣布进入紧急状态，这使我们能够更直接地比较他们的决定。紧急状态通常意味着行政权力的扩大，从而削弱了其他政府部门的权力以及个人的公民自由。在这里，我们分析了在 COVID-19 大流行的第一波期间紧急规定的使用情况，并发现这在很大程度上可以通过政治经济学来解释。因此，它确实不构成例外。我们表明，许多政府已经（错误地）利用大流行作为限制媒体自由的借口。我们进一步表明，行政法令被许多政府视为紧急状态的替代品。