Environmental Engineering Reference
In-Depth Information
the society, 'americans did lend each other a helping hand'. even with 'occasional
harshness', the 1918 influenza pandemic did not demonstrate a general pattern of
race or class antagonism.
Similarly, in the political sphere, the dynamics among disease, instability, state
capacity, and political legitimacy may not be entirely negative. the U.S. government
cover-up and inaction during the Spanish influenza did not cause any legitimacy
problems for the government (crosby 2003, 115). In fact, even with its disruption
to U.S. society, the pandemic did not seem to have had a significant impact on
fundamental governmental and social institutions. while contextual factors such as
world war I played an important role in this process, enthusiasm from a robust civil
society offset the government capacity deficit in the battle with the influenza (Crosby
2003, 115-116). the mixed political outcome was also shown in the case of SarS
in china. Despite the initial cover-up and inaction, the chinese government's ability
to contain the spread quickly shored up its legitimacy (Huang 2004). Meanwhile,
the SarS debacle opened a political window for central leaders to reinforce control
over lower-level officials and to pursue a more balanced development agenda. Even
in the absence of an autonomous and civil society, strong state capacity helped the
government to weather the most severe sociopolitical crisis facing the chinese
leadership since the 1989 tiananmen crackdown. both cases suggest that the
socioeconomic impacts can vary, depending on the level of civil society engagement
and state capacity in battling the pandemic (see table 7-3).
as suggested in table 7-3, the ideal outcome is that a strong state works closely
with a robust civil society to contain the spread of the pandemic and mitigate its
potential sociopolitical outcomes. 'Strong state' means high state capacity to respond
not only on the health front but more generally (e.g., ability to maintain social
order and to provide essential commodities and services). State capacity is more
Table 7-3: State Capacity, Civil Society Engagement, and Sociopolitical
Impacts
State capacity to respond
High
low
coexistence of social dislocations
and social cohesion/cooperation; no
fundamental change in sociopolitical
structures (e.g., the United States
during the Spanish influenza)
negative sociopolitical consequences
minimised
negative downward spiral among
pandemic, sociopolitical instability,
state capacity, and political
legitimacy; social breakdown or state
failure highly likely
Initial dislocations in the society and
polity likely, but mitigated by strong
and effective state engagement later
(e.g., china during SarS)
Note : SarS = severe acute respiratory syndrome.
 
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