ABSTRACT

This article studies the difference in the government response to COVID-19 in Norway and Sweden drawing upon theories of agenda setting, crisis management and multi-level governance. Despite having virtually identical systems of government and, initially, facing similar infection threats, Sweden opted for far less strict countermeasures than Norway. While Norway’s government response was similar to that of many European countries, Sweden received international attention for choosing befuddlingly soft measures, mostly recommendations and guidelines. This divergence is discussed vis-à-vis the multiple streams lens of agenda setting theory, highlighting differences in institutional and organisational legacies (e.g., the autonomy of government agencies) and intergovernmental relations (e.g., whether infectious disease expertise and authority is located at the local level).

摘要

本文利用议程设置、危机管理和多层次治理的理论研究了挪威和瑞典政府对 COVID-19 的反应差异。尽管拥有几乎相同的政府系统，并且最初面临类似的感染威胁，瑞典选择的应对措施远没有挪威那么严格。虽然挪威政府的反应与许多欧洲国家相似，但瑞典因选择令人眼花缭乱的软措施而受到国际关注，主要是建议和指导方针。这种分歧是针对议程设置理论的多流视角进行讨论的，强调制度和组织遗产（例如，政府机构的自主权）和政府间关系（例如，