Decentralisation and Covid-19 Stress-testing the Spanish territorial system

This chapter analyses how the Spanish governance system and territorial model responded to the stress test generated by the Covid-19 pandemic. The abrupt irruption of the health crisis took the Spanish political and institutional system into a crisis mode. The initial reactions were based on ‘instit...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published inComparative Federalism and Covid-19 Vol. 1; pp. 33 - 50
Main Authors Erkoreka, Mikel, Grau Creus, Mireia, Kölling, Mario
Format Book Chapter
LanguageEnglish
Published Routledge 2022
Edition1
Subjects
Online AccessGet full text
ISBN0367763966
9780367763961
9780367763978
0367763974
DOI10.4324/9781003166771-4

Cover

Abstract This chapter analyses how the Spanish governance system and territorial model responded to the stress test generated by the Covid-19 pandemic. The abrupt irruption of the health crisis took the Spanish political and institutional system into a crisis mode. The initial reactions were based on ‘institutionally automatic-pilot reactions’: a hierarchical response that centralised all powers in a single decision-making unit by declaring the state of alarm. Under the state of alarm, the central government assumed some powers of the autonomous communities (ACs). However, the growing political contestation and the logistical inefficiencies derived from recentralising brought about a change of perspective. From May 2020, the ACs gradually recovered their health powers and were given a voice within the pandemic's decision-making processes. The Covid-19 crisis has unveiled that Spain's decentralised political system, for years assumed to be fast and furiously running into a federal track, had actually a structural speed limit: an unfitted shared rule and a very-easy-to-dismantle self-rule. Although central government's approach on the role of the ACs in state-wide decision-making processes changed during the crisis, whether this change, based on political attitudes and interests, can generate a stable institutional context is an issue to be dealt with in the future.
AbstractList This chapter analyses how the Spanish governance system and territorial model responded to the stress test generated by the Covid-19 pandemic. The abrupt irruption of the health crisis took the Spanish political and institutional system into a crisis mode. The initial reactions were based on ‘institutionally automatic-pilot reactions’: a hierarchical response that centralised all powers in a single decision-making unit by declaring the state of alarm. Under the state of alarm, the central government assumed some powers of the autonomous communities (ACs). However, the growing political contestation and the logistical inefficiencies derived from recentralising brought about a change of perspective. From May 2020, the ACs gradually recovered their health powers and were given a voice within the pandemic's decision-making processes. The Covid-19 crisis has unveiled that Spain's decentralised political system, for years assumed to be fast and furiously running into a federal track, had actually a structural speed limit: an unfitted shared rule and a very-easy-to-dismantle self-rule. Although central government's approach on the role of the ACs in state-wide decision-making processes changed during the crisis, whether this change, based on political attitudes and interests, can generate a stable institutional context is an issue to be dealt with in the future.
Author Kölling, Mario
Erkoreka, Mikel
Grau Creus, Mireia
Author_xml – sequence: 1
  givenname: Mikel
  orcidid: 0000-0001-6690-0333
  surname: Erkoreka
  fullname: Erkoreka, Mikel
– sequence: 2
  givenname: Mireia
  orcidid: 0000-0002-1255-5527
  surname: Grau Creus
  fullname: Grau Creus, Mireia
– sequence: 3
  givenname: Mario
  orcidid: 0000-0001-8561-6952
  surname: Kölling
  fullname: Kölling, Mario
BookMark eNpVj09LxDAUxCMq6K49exL2C1Tfy5-X9iirrsKCFz2HNE0gWBNIyorf3sp68TTDb2CYWbGzlJNn7BrhVgou73rdIYBAIq2xlSesORKQGgXiKVuBWCISPdEFa2qNAyjS1AF0l-zmwTuf5mKnWO0cc9rYNG62-RDHFvsrdh7sVH3zp2v2_vT4tn1u96-7l-39vo0o5NyGoMgKUD0pUsgJnQTyQSg5cg2OJHVyWNxCg7OgvRgCuRCo0zz0ios12x17Ywq5fNqvXKbRzPZ7yiUUm1ysQ84f1SCY39Pm32kjzcGXuozn4gdKvUyZ
ContentType Book Chapter
Copyright 2022 selection and editorial matter, Nico Steytler; individual chapters, the contributors
Copyright_xml – notice: 2022 selection and editorial matter, Nico Steytler; individual chapters, the contributors
DOI 10.4324/9781003166771-4
DatabaseTitleList
DeliveryMethod fulltext_linktorsrc
Discipline Public Health
DocumentTitleAlternate Spain
EISBN 9781000471311
9781000471366
1000471365
9781003166771
1000471314
1003166776
Edition 1
EndPage 50
ExternalDocumentID 10_4324_9781003166771_4_version2
GroupedDBID 38.
A7I
AABBV
ABEQL
ADASV
AESKO
AFWCW
AGWHU
AIQUZ
AKNHY
ALKVF
ALMA_UNASSIGNED_HOLDINGS
BBABE
CZZ
EBATF
EIXGO
INALI
JTX
OXWLL
V1H
ID FETCH-LOGICAL-i134t-ff56a305965651261c406ef354d270c64684b270406fca07e3bf6cff6872f9523
ISBN 0367763966
9780367763961
9780367763978
0367763974
IngestDate Fri Aug 29 09:53:08 EDT 2025
IsPeerReviewed false
IsScholarly false
Keywords La Rioja
AC Government
Intergovernmental Relations
recovery plan
Uneven Ratio
Intergovernmental Fiscal Relations
stress test
Public Administrations
asymmetry
Nationwide State
Conferred
state of alarm
Central Government
Rapid Response System
fiscal co-responsibility
Territorial Model
autonomous communities
Declaration Of Independence
political contestation
Pandemic Management
negotiation
PSOE Leader
Comparative Federalism
new normality
co-governance
Covid-19
Decentralised Entity
decentralisation
Tv Presenter
Local Government Action
Spanish Government
Spain
Chronic
de-escalation
Fourth Extension
Basque Country
PSOE
MERS
Catalan Government
Language English
LinkModel OpenURL
MergedId FETCHMERGED-LOGICAL-i134t-ff56a305965651261c406ef354d270c64684b270406fca07e3bf6cff6872f9523
ORCID 0000-0001-8561-6952
0000-0001-6690-0333
0000-0002-1255-5527
PageCount 18
ParticipantIDs informaworld_taylorfrancisbooks_10_4324_9781003166771_4_version2
PublicationCentury 2000
PublicationDate 2022
PublicationDateYYYYMMDD 2022-01-01
PublicationDate_xml – year: 2022
  text: 2022
PublicationDecade 2020
PublicationSubtitle Combating the Pandemic
PublicationTitle Comparative Federalism and Covid-19
PublicationYear 2022
Publisher Routledge
Publisher_xml – name: Routledge
SSID ssib056768008
ssj0002515712
ssib046565915
ssib046775647
Score 1.6840806
Snippet This chapter analyses how the Spanish governance system and territorial model responded to the stress test generated by the Covid-19 pandemic. The abrupt...
SourceID informaworld
SourceType Publisher
StartPage 33
Subtitle Stress-testing the Spanish territorial system
Title Decentralisation and Covid-19
URI https://www.taylorfrancis.com/books/9781003166771/chapters/10.4324/9781003166771-4
Volume 1
hasFullText 1
inHoldings 1
isFullTextHit
isPrint
link http://utb.summon.serialssolutions.com/2.0.0/link/0/eLvHCXMwpV1LS8QwEA7qSfTgE9_04E2qm-bVvanrC0VPCt5KmiYgCyvUrgd_vTNN222rIOqltKGknZ10MjM73zeEHDKXIa2aDqkxaciFYSGypoWx0VRrmtloiADn-wd588Rvn8XzrHFiiS4p0mPz8S2u5C9ahTHQK6Jkf6HZZlIYgHPQLxxBw3DsOb_dNKvnFWjxdl8hJQRSGfqGFyNE14W0ifEv8_Frbsfa18mPbVNVcZ3r6dEot1Ofcwbz99KY6Tv8D_1clpzdFarH12zVK-zCVpWdVUXQ10dX2YQo6mUTumVIdZgJu5wCOzT0tOmN3WzZPU9mUe2gnkm2b5uR-s-XY1C0JBKmpBXAp0t4DWEJ3pt07kx48u4TiLDfzqsY2yScqSbSRdY3MZx5NmD-lWgxpQkJYVVNY4SbNLh1QtEyTq-Fk60LxStypkby7rWKPU0UvuhJT6Qe6W3LXXlcIUsIYQkQWwIir5I5O1kjyz5DG3jg2TrZ7-svAP0Ftf42yNPV5ePoJqyaZYQvlPEidE5IzbCZEvwSFOJiA66adUzwLFIDI7mMeQpnMOqMHijLUieNczJWkRuKiG2ShcnrxG6RYBBpZvXAOJ1q5JOLrTMc3EjNMsptprbJaVvApChzS843gsHv4S35SYc7_59ilyzOFvAeWSjyqd0HB7FID8ql8QmxC1RI
linkProvider Open Access Publishing in European Networks
openUrl ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&ctx_enc=info%3Aofi%2Fenc%3AUTF-8&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fsummon.serialssolutions.com&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Abook&rft.genre=bookitem&rft.title=Comparative+Federalism+and+Covid-19&rft.au=Erkoreka%2C+Mikel&rft.au=Grau+Creus%2C+Mireia&rft.au=K%C3%B6lling%2C+Mario&rft.atitle=Decentralisation+and+Covid-19&rft.date=2022-01-01&rft.pub=Routledge&rft.isbn=9780367763961&rft.volume=1&rft.spage=33&rft.epage=50&rft_id=info:doi/10.4324%2F9781003166771-4&rft.externalDocID=10_4324_9781003166771_4_version2
thumbnail_l http://covers-cdn.summon.serialssolutions.com/index.aspx?isbn=9780367763961/lc.gif&client=summon&freeimage=true
thumbnail_m http://covers-cdn.summon.serialssolutions.com/index.aspx?isbn=9780367763961/mc.gif&client=summon&freeimage=true
thumbnail_s http://covers-cdn.summon.serialssolutions.com/index.aspx?isbn=9780367763961/sc.gif&client=summon&freeimage=true