Divisive Politics for Erratic Policy: The effects of party polarization on government response to Covid-19 in EU countries

Abstract: Party polarization research at the academic level has been limited so far compared to media coverage. Nonetheless, there is increasing academic attention on the effects of polarization on policy intensity. This study aims to analyse the impact party polarization has on the government response carried out in the EU countries during Covid-19. The specialized literature study how political polarization affects governance, and when high levels of political polarization arise, the chances of generating legislative and executive gridlock increase. However, a lack of studies links the government response to Covid-19 with polarization at the elite level. To do so, this paper intends to capture the impact of party polarization on government response during the external shock of the pandemic. Consequently, a panel data quantitative study is conducted in the theoretical framework of rational choice covering 26 EU countries for 2020 and 2021. Finally, results suggest that exacerbated polarized political systems presumably adopts lower government responses to tackle Covid-19.