Challenges of Governance During COVID-19 Pandemic: The Case Study of Mauritius

IF 0.9 4区社会学 Q3 POLITICAL SCIENCE

Politikon Pub Date : 2021-04-03 DOI:10.1080/02589346.2021.1913806

Linganaden Murday, S. J. Reddi, Sheetal Sheena Sookrajowa

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引用次数: 1

Abstract

ABSTRACT Mauritius is usually portrayed as one of the most democratic countries in the world and a symbol of good governance. In the COVID-19 context, it is also cited as one of the very few countries that has successfully halted local transmission of the virus. While this reputation is deserved to some extent, there are very real governance issues and undemocratic tendencies that are experienced by its people but rarely captured by outsiders. Using documentary analysis, this article draws from the COVID-19 context to provide a different view of governance in Mauritius. It shows that Mauritius has long-standing governance issues and points out that the government that came to power in 2014 has had a pronounced autocratic tendency that has exacerbated these governance issues. However, no major protest occurred because it was able to balance public outcry with populist measures. The responses to the pandemic acted as a magnifying glass on those governance issues and the new socio-economic situation created by the pandemic neutralised the effect of populist measures. This, in turn, generated an explosive context worsened by another event like the Wakashio oil spill that led to an emerging citizen’s movement that holds the potential to fuel reforms of the country’s ailing governance.

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新冠肺炎疫情期间的治理挑战——以毛里求斯为例

毛里求斯通常被描绘成世界上最民主的国家之一，也是善政的象征。在新冠肺炎的背景下，它也被认为是成功阻止病毒本地传播的极少数国家之一。虽然这种声誉在某种程度上是应得的，但它的人民经历了非常真实的治理问题和不民主倾向，但很少被局外人抓住。本文通过文献分析，从新冠肺炎的背景出发，对毛里求斯的治理提供了不同的观点。它表明毛里求斯存在长期的治理问题，并指出2014年上台的政府有明显的独裁倾向，加剧了这些治理问题。然而，没有发生重大抗议活动，因为它能够平衡公众的强烈抗议和民粹主义措施。对疫情的反应就像是这些治理问题的放大镜，疫情造成的新的社会经济形势抵消了民粹主义措施的影响。这反过来又产生了一个爆炸性的背景，而另一个事件，如Wakashio漏油事件，导致了一场新兴的公民运动，有可能推动该国糟糕治理的改革。

本文章由计算机程序翻译，如有差异，请以英文原文为准。

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来源期刊

Politikon POLITICAL SCIENCE-

CiteScore

1.90

自引率

0.00%

发文量

审稿时长

32 weeks

期刊介绍： Politikon focuses primarily on South African politics, but not exclusively so. Over the years the journal has published articles by some of the world" leading political scientists, including Arend Lijphart, Samuel Huntingdon, and Philippe Schmitter. It has also featured important contributions from South Africa"s leading political philosophers, political scientists and international relations experts. It has proved an influential journal, particularly in debates over the merits of South Africa"s constitutional reforms (in 1983 and 1994). In the last few years special issues have focused on women and politics in South Africa, and the South African election of 1999.