POLITICS AND PANDEMICS: THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN ECONOMIC SECURITY, PUBLIC HEALTH EMERGENCIES, AND GOVERNMENTAL AUTHORITY
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Date
2021-12-20
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Johns Hopkins University
Abstract
This thesis explores the relationship between economic security, public health emergencies, and governmental authority. Each chapter reveals and acknowledges the significance and impact of public health emergencies and the components of responding to them. Chapter One of this thesis portfolio, The National Security Implications of Public Health Emergencies and Crisis Response, addresses the impact of public health emergencies from an objective lens. This chapter also revealed how, when, and why these events shape economic policy, public policy, and defense strategy. Using the COVID-19 Pandemic as a case study, Chapter One found that the Trump administration’s initial handling of the COVID-19 Pandemic was unsatisfactory from a national security standpoint.
Chapter Two of this thesis portfolio, The Executive Branch’s Role in Public Health Emergencies, analyzed previous crises and public health emergency responses by executive administrations and evaluated them with a case study incorporating several variables during the Trump administration’s response to the COVID-19 Pandemic. This comparison also revealed if there is a need for new legislative or policy measures regarding executive authority as well as what is the best approach to take when responding to public health emergencies for a presidential administration.
Chapter Three of this thesis portfolio, Looking Ahead: The Future Scope of Executive and Congressional Authority During Public Health Emergencies, expounds on the previous chapter’s findings from a legal, statutory, and constitutional context. The chapter proposed new congressional and executive action for both entities to abide by when faced with public health emergencies. In doing so, these executive measures ensure that the level of detriment pandemics such as COVID-19 pose are eliminated or at least curtailed significantly, if possible.
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Keywords
Economic Security, National Security, Politics, COVID-19, Government Response, Executive Branch, Public Health Emergencies