The Debate About Loosening the Emergency Measures

Related to the corona pandemic: self-interest or "sociotropic threat"?

The debate about when and how to loosen the emergency measures that have been implemented in order to contain the spread of the Corona virus is becoming increasingly polarized. On the one hand, there are those who ask for their quick removal in order to mitigate negative impact on the economy or the social costs of self-isolation. On the other hand, there are those who argue that this would be too dangerous, esp. for vulnerable groups. This debate will likely become even more heated during the next months.

Do policy preferences for or against the loosening of emergency measures reflect the degree to which these measures threaten individual interests? Or do they rather reflect perceived threat to Germany’s economy, finances, civil rights or society? Which type of perceived threat in which areas of society leads to more urgent demand for loosening of measures? These are the questions outlined in this module, ultimately aiming at describing and explaining policy preferences.

Results

The results of the survey have entered into a Policy Paper, which the Cluster has published in collaboration with the independent Berlin think-tank Das Progressive Zentrum:

Claudia Diehl, Felix Wolter (2020): Raus aus dem Lockdown? Warum es manchen zu schnell und anderen nicht schnell genug geht. Policy Paper 03: COVID19 und soziale Ungleichheit – Thesen und Befunde. 23. Juli 2020.
-> Download the Policy Paper