From 'Mega-Crisis' to 'Great Enabler'? Myths and Realities of Crisis Exploitation in Covid's Shadow

As the rich nations of the Global North can begin to hope that by the end of 2021 they will have tamed the pandemic, calls to 'not let a major crisis go to waste' pop up everywhere. That is, to use the opportunity of the disruption to the status quo it has wrought and the learning experience of having to improvise ways of keeping our economies and communities going. In other words: to enact sweeping policy reforms and accelerate innovations in the wake of - or under cover of - the biggest crisis since the Second World War. But, how realistic are those expectations of sweeping, crisis-driven reforms? In this paper we examine the state of the art of research on crises as 'game changers' and 'windows of opportunity'. We will curb the enthusiasm, discerning key enablers but also major constraints on the putative catalytic role of crises in public policy, and conclude by articulating some predictions about what might eventuate in the shadow of the pandemic.