Who Governs‪?‬

In a democracy, a government's authority derives from the consent of the governed. When emergencies hit— such as the COVID-19 health crisis— how are authorities, both elected and unelected, empowered to act? Experts in political science, democratic governance, and jurisprudence examine the wave of executive orders that followed the onset of this pandemic in 2020, as well as the legal and public responses to them, to consider what is right, lawful, and just.