Germany’s Crisis Management in the CORONA-Pandemic. Challenges of a Federal Political-Administrative System

Abstract

This article deals with the analysis and evaluation of crisis management in Germany in the course of the COVID-19 pandemic (deadline mid-August 2020). The focus is on the analysis and critical assessment of the distribution of competencies between the federal, federal states and local levels in the German political-administrative system in health crises like this pandemic. The legal basis for the state measures is is the general clause of the National Infection Protection Act (IfSG), which allows extensive interventions in public life without having to declare a state of emergency. In the next step, the previous phases of fighting the pandemic in Germany are briefly presented. Finally, as a case study, the adaptation strategies of the municipalities during the CORONA crisis with regard to administrative management, core administrations, municipal companies, municipal politics and local citizen participation are worked out. The article ends with some conclusions, which must remain for the time being, as the pandemic is not over yet.