The political calculus of bad governance: The fight against COVID-19 in Israel

The fight against COVID-19 brought to the fore the central role that government plays in governance. Studies relying on a state-centric conception of governance almost unanimously agree that (i) effective governance requires formal governmental structures and processes, and that (ii) the study of governance should be separate to the study of public policy. Based on the premise that in situations of extreme uncertainty political considerations may intermingle with governance choices, the paper complements the first claim. It does so by highlighting the conditions under which unorganized, uncoordinated, unregulated, and uninformed delivery of governmental services (read, bad governance) may at times constitute a politically well-calibrated and highly effective strategy that inflicts damage on political rivals; succeeds in shaping voters’ perceptions favorably and creates a “noisy” governance environment that increases the leader’s room for maneuver and enables the implementation disproportionate policy responses nearly unchallenged. The latter point is used here to challenge the second claim: because governance could be considered as a political instrument, precisely like policy, the two should be studied together rather than separately. These arguments are illustrated by an analysis of Israelʼs fight against COVID-19.