Page - 14 - in VULNERABLE - The Law, Policy and Ethics of COVID-19

VULNERABLE14 The pandemic has been used by some governments as a pretext for seizing further control over the levers of government.52 Scholars of the democratic decline in Hungary have identified the corona- virus outbreak as an important “constitutional moment” in President Viktor Orban’s quest for supremacy, a “coronavirus coup.”53 Weak systems of government are vulnerable along multiple axes—prone to further hollowing out when the opportunity presents itself and also unable to coordinate an effective response to the pandemic owing to unresponsive governance and corruption.54 In the United States, for example, state governments have resorted to covertly importing PPE to avoid its being confiscated by the federal government for redistri- bution to political allies.55 The Edited Collection To illustrate the different ways COVID-19 reveals existing vulnerabili- ties and creates new ones, our discussion is grouped into six sections: federalism, accountability, civil liberties, equity, labour, and global health. While many of the chapters have a Canadian focus, they con- tain insights that will also be of interest to an international audience. In some cases, there is significant disagreement between our contribu- tors. We do not attempt to resolve these differences, but illuminate them to help us better design the best legal and policy responses to COVID-19. In what follows, we discuss in reverse order the themes as they appear in this book, in order to emphasize the interconnected- ness of global and local issues. online: <https://www.cp24.com/news/covid-19-pandemic-forces-ontario-justice- system-stuck-in-the-1970s-to-modernize-1.4917915>. 52. Dan Baer, “The Shocking ‘Coronavirus Coup’ in Hungary Was a Wake-Up Call” (31 March 2020), online: Carnegie  Endowment  for  International  Peace <https:// carnegieendowment.org/2020/03/31/shocking-coronavirus-coup-in-hungary- was-wake-up-call-pub-81431>. 53. Renáta Uitz, “Pandemic as Constitutional Moment” (24 March 2020), online (blog): Verfassungsblog <https://verfassungsblog.de/pandemic-as-constitutional- moment/>. 54. See generally Ebrahim Afsah, “Dysfunctional Resilience in the Afghan Civil Service” J World Comparative L (forthcoming 2020). 55. Ross Ketschke, “‘You Can Get Past This’ Man Wins Battle with COVID-19”, WCVB (last modified 17 May 2020), online: <https://www.wcvb.com/article/ you-can-get-past-this-man-wins-month-long-battle-with-covid-19/32556120#>.