Policymaking in Times of Crisis
Special issue of the Journal of European Public Policy, 2026

Editors: Frank R. Baumgartner and Laura Chaqués Bonafont

Governments consistently deal with crises, but some are larger than others, some are endogenously created, and some are exogenously imposed. This Special Issue of the Journal incorporates 15 contributions which assess various elements of policymaking in times of crisis. As crises appear to be increasingly common, we assess their impacts on the policy process, concluding that no understanding of policymaking in general can be complete if it does not apply to policymaking in times of crisis.

Note: This special issue is in production. The articles linked below have been published on-line, with the rest to appear in fall 2025. The special issue itself is expected in early 2026.

List of Contributions

  1. Baumgartner, Frank R., & Laura Chaqués Bonafont, Policymaking in times of crisis.
  2. Bevan, Shaun, & Zachary Greene. Administrating crisis is just a transition: interventions on bureaucratic activity in the United Kingdom, 1987–2022.
  3. Borghetto, Enrico, Luca Manucci & Derek A. Epp. Is the populist Robin Hood a fairy tale? Parliamentary attention to social welfare.
  4. Carammia, Marcello, & Stefano M. Iacus. Migration Flows, Mood, and Policy.
  5. Casey, Daniel, & Maria Maley. Robodebt and the limits of learning: exploring meaning-making after a crisis.
  6. Cavalieri, Alice. The shape of the budget. European countries’ public expenditure through crises.
  7. Cavari, Amnon, and Asif Efrat. Polarized public agenda in times of crisis.
  8. Filindra, Alexandra, & Craig M. Burnett. Racial populism, partisan spillover, and Americans’ quest for citizen education policy control: implications for European democracies.
  9. Hartzell, Grace C. Era of mass migration: measuring immigration policy and re-examining thermostatic responsiveness.
  10. Richter, Friederike, & Lou Safra. Public perceptions of defence policy in times of crisis: evidence from France during the Ukraine war.
  11. Schnatterer, Tinette, & Anja Durovic. Government polling in times of crises: When capacity meets incentives.
  12. Sebok, Miklós, Aron Buzogany, Julia Fleischer, Ákos Holányi, Orsolya Ring, and Sean M. Theriault. Crisis-exploitation, sticky narratives or fear-mongering? A research agenda for the comparative study of policy crises and illiberal policy frames.
  13. Shafi, Saahir, & Daniel J. Mallinson. Policy performance in crisis: evaluating federalism and multi-party governance.
  14. Shpaizman, Ilana, & Sharon Gilad. At the last minute: The use of the prime minister's power to amend the agenda during a crisis.
  15. Workman, Samuel, & Herschel F. Thomas. The other side of chaos COVID-19, federal spending, and local government volatility.