The Politics of Duties during COVID-19

COVID-19 posed an unprecedented public health challenge to governments around the world and raised the issue of civic duties to an extent rarely seen outside of wartime. This policy brief explores how the pandemic impacted legal norms and political discourse in liberal democracies. Drawing on research from the Co-Duties project, we show how the ‘civic duties’ of lockdown during the pandemic were implemented and negotiated in three countries: Norway, France and the UK, and we highlight some of the policy insights that emerge.