Much of the responsibility for tackling the COVID-19 pandemic in the US has fallen on states and their governments. Michael Mintrom and Ruby O’Connor write that the stories governors have told their citizens about their state’s COVID-19 policies have been incredibly important. They argue that in order to best aid the acceptance of often controversial policies, policymakers should strive to create consistent messages, crafted to local conditions and that align talk with action

Mintrom, Michael

O'Connor, Ruby

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LSE Research Online

How	state	governments	talk	about	the	COVID-19	pandemic	helps	them	tackle	it.	Much	of	the	responsibility	for	tackling	the	COVID-19	pandemic	in	the	US	has	fallen	on	states	and	theirgovernments.	Michael	Mintrom	and	Ruby	O’Connor	write	that	the	stories	governors	have	told	theircitizens	about	their	state’s	COVID-19	policies	have	been	incredibly	important.	They	argue	that	in	orderto	best	aid	the	acceptance	of	often	controversial	policies,	policymakers	should	strive	to	createconsistent	messages,	crafted	to	local	conditions	and	that	align	talk	with	action.COVID-19	has	posed	big	challenges	to	governments	everywhere.	The	successes	and	failures	of	governmentresponses	offer	lessons	both	as	we	continue	to	address	the	pandemic	and	as	we	prepare	for	future	crises.	In	recentresearch,	we	analyzed	the	COVID-19	policy	narratives	of	the	governors	of	California,	Florida,	New	York,	andTexas.	These	narratives	have	influenced	the	effectiveness	of	the	state	responses	to	COVID-19.Sometimes,	policies	don’t	align	with	current	social	norms	or	desires.	That’s	certainly	been	the	case	with	responsesto	COVID-19.	In	policymaking,	narratives	are	stories	constructed	to	persuade	key	constituents	to	support	specificpolicies	–	even	if	those	policies	are	not	immediately	appealing.Nobody	enjoys	their	freedoms	being	curtailed.	But	with	the	COVID-19	crisis,	we’ve	seen	people	being	persuadedto	give	up	some	freedoms	temporarily	to	limit	the	spread	of	the	virus.	The	key	has	been	for	people	to	seethat	temporarily	giving	up	some	freedoms	will	lead	to	better	future	outcomes,	both	for	themselves	and	for	thebroader	society.In	a	crisis,	political	leaders	and	senior	public	managers	must	rapidly	make	sense	of	the	situation	then	help	others	todo	the	same.	This	can	save	lives.Policy	Narratives	can	support	crisis	responsesPolicy	narratives	created	to	support	effective	crisis	responses	can	have	four	effects.First,	policy	narratives	can	provide	persuasive	accounts	of	what	is	happening,	why	it	is	happening,	andwhat	should	be	done	about	it.	In	California,	Democratic	Governor	Gavin	Newsom	created	a	persuasive	accountearly	on.	He	did	this	by	engaging	with	his	audience	while	implementing	policies	that	consistently	aligned	withhis	message	of	working	collectively	to	control	the	spread	of	the	virus	and	mitigate	its	health	impacts.“Lotte	New	York	Palace	Displays	Stay	Safe	During	COVID19	Quarantine	New	York	City”	by	Anthony	Quintano	is	licensed	under	CCUSApp – American Politics and Policy Blog: How state governments talk about the COVID-19 pandemic helps them tackle it. Page 1 of 3		Date originally posted: 2020-09-18Permalink: https://blogs.lse.ac.uk/usappblog/2020/09/18/how-state-governments-talk-about-the-covid-19-pandemic-helps-them-tackle-it/Blog homepage: https://blogs.lse.ac.uk/usappblog/BY	2.0Second,	policy	narratives	can	create	a	broad	coalition	of	support	for	policy	actions	to	betaken,	reducing	opportunities	for	conflict.	Democratic	New	York	Governor	Andrew	Cuomo’s	daily	briefings	sawhim	serve	as	a	unifying	and	trusted	voice	for	the	nation.	Emphasizing	unity	over	division	and	focusing	on	the	needfor	neighboring	states	to	work	together,	Cuomo	created	a	policy	narrative	that	enabled	him	to	traverse	state	andideological	boundaries.Third,	policy	narratives	can	nurture	trust	and	cooperation	among	those	whose	actions	will	be	material	toaddressing	a	crisis.	Newsom	and	Cuomo	emphasized	that	the	crisis	could	be	managed	so	longas	everyone	followed	the	policies	being	implemented	to	save	lives.	In	Florida,	Republican	Governor	RonDeSantis	developed	a	counter-narrative.	DeSantis	posited	that	citizens	would	not	be	able	to	comply	with	toostrict	measures.	Further	undermining	the	need	for	Floridians	to	work	together,	he	continued	to	claim	thatthings	were	generally	going	well	in	Florida	–	even	as	case	numbers	were	rising.Fourth,	policy	narratives	can	enable	people	to	make	informed	responses	to	a	crisis	within	theirrespective	localities.	In	Texas,	Republican	Governor	Greg	Abbott	played	down	the	health	repercussions	of	thevirus	and	insisted	that	avoiding	losses	to	business	was	the	driving	factor	behind	his	decisions.	By	privileging	theright	to	reopen	businesses,	Governor	Abbott	suggested	to	his	citizens	that	a	rapid	transition	back	to	the	status	quowas	necessary,	appropriate,	and	possible.Throughout	the	crisis,	political	leaders	have	been	mindful	of	protecting	population	healthand	maintaining	economic	performance.	All	have	found	it	greatly	challenging	to	pursue	bothgoals	simultaneously.	The	call	to	save	lives	can	quickly	clash	with	economic	boosterism.		This	has	meant	that	we’veseen	some	confusing	and	seemingly	inconsistent	statements	from	political	leaders,	even	as	they	have	tried	to	dotheir	best	for	their	constituents.Lessons	from	assessing	policy	narrativesFrom	assessing	the	policy	narratives	of	the	four	governors,	we	draw	three	lessons:1.	 Consistent	messaging	is	important.	A	narrative	that	has	a	consistent,	overarching	message	about	how	andwhy	a	policy	or	set	of	policies	is	being	implemented	helps	people	appreciate	why	changes	are	occurring	anddetermine	how	they	–	and	their	actions	–	can	support	them.2.	 The	message	needs	to	be	crafted	to	the	local	context.	To	be	effective,	policies	need	to	be	accepted	withinthe	local	context	where	they	are	being	implemented.	The	narrative	around	these	policies	must	appeal	to,	andresonate	with,	a	variety	of	people.3.	 Talk	must	be	aligned	with	action.	No	matter	how	compelling	a	narrative	and	how	engaging	its	delivery,	ifthe	implemented	policies	contradict	it,	then	public	trust	and	cooperation	will	wane.	The	narratives	thataccompany	policy	implementation	must	accurately	explain	the	policy	decision.	Actions	and	impacts	mustsupport	the	narrative.We’ve	drawn	these	lessons	from	analyzing	how	four	state	governors	responded	to	the	COVID-19	crisis.	They	canapply	in	other	policymaking	contexts	too.	In	sum,	policymakers	should	strive	to	create	consistent	messages,	craftedto	local	conditions,	that	align	talk	with	action.	Policy	narratives	do	not	necessarily	have	life	and	death	impacts.But	–	as	this	crisis	has	reminded	us	–	sometimes	they	do.This	article	is	based	on	the	paper,	‘The	importance	of	policy	narrative:	effective	government	responses	toCovid-19’	in	Policy	Design	and	PracticePlease	read	our	comments	policy	before	commenting. Note:	This	article	gives	the	views	of	the	author,	and	not	the	position	of	USAPP–	American	Politics	and	Policy,	nor	ofthe	London	School	of	Economics.	Shortened	URL	for	this	post:	https://bit.ly/2G0KAugUSApp – American Politics and Policy Blog: How state governments talk about the COVID-19 pandemic helps them tackle it. Page 2 of 3		Date originally posted: 2020-09-18Permalink: https://blogs.lse.ac.uk/usappblog/2020/09/18/how-state-governments-talk-about-the-covid-19-pandemic-helps-them-tackle-it/Blog homepage: https://blogs.lse.ac.uk/usappblog/About	the	authorsMichael	Mintrom	–	Monash	UniversityMichael	Mintrom	is	a	Professor	of	Public	Policy	and	Director	of	Better	Governance	and	Policy	atMonash	University.Ruby	O’Connor	–	Monash	UniversityRuby	O’Connor	is	a	Research	and	Administration	Officer	with	Better	Governance	and	Policy	atMonash	University.USApp – American Politics and Policy Blog: How state governments talk about the COVID-19 pandemic helps them tackle it. Page 3 of 3		Date originally posted: 2020-09-18Permalink: https://blogs.lse.ac.uk/usappblog/2020/09/18/how-state-governments-talk-about-the-covid-19-pandemic-helps-them-tackle-it/Blog homepage: https://blogs.lse.ac.uk/usappblog/

How state governments talk about the covid-19 pandemic helps them tackle it.

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How state governments talk about the covid-19 pandemic helps them tackle it.

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