POLARIZATION,PREJUDICE,ANDPERSISTENCE:REDUCINGCOVID-19 TRANSMISSIONRATESACROSSREGIMETYPES

ByNinaZhong

In response to the World Health Organization’s request todevelopaglobalstrategicplan toincreasevaccinationratesandreducetransmissionratesofCOVID-19,thismemowillprovide socio-political context for states with different regime types and provide recommendations accordingly. It is important to provide suggestionsaccordingtoregimetypesbecausefeaturesof regime types heavily affect the relationship between the government and its people. In other words, different regime types have different levels of control and authority over their citizens, which unfolds as different levels of freedom of press, freedom of speech, levels of decentralisation, etc. This memo will discuss socio-political contexts and recommend different strategies to increase vaccination rates in four states: USA, South Africa, Russia, and China—respectively a consolidated democracy, transitioning regime, hybrid regime, and autocratic regime. The goal of this memo is to recognize and analyze the varying degrees of freedom, the effects of political biases, and the distinctive socialcontextsacrossregimetypesto increase vaccination rates in order to support states in facilitating a smooth transitiontorecover from the devastatingsocio-economiceffectsofCOVID-19andimprovethewellbeingofcitizens aroundtheworld.

As a consolidated democraticregime,theUSplacesemphasisonthepreservationofcore liberties such as freedom of speech, and there is limited government authority over society (Siaroff 2013). These features of American democracy areimportantbecausefreedomofspeech actively contributestothepoliticalpolarisationinAmericatoday(SchertzerandWoods2021).A regime-type approach is important for the US because although the US has an abundance of funds andavailablevaccinestoensuremostcitizensreceivevaccinations,politicalpolarisationis the main reason for inadequate vaccination rates. There is a spread of misinformationregarding harmful effects of vaccines, specifically among Republicans (Rothwell and Dasai 2020). The effects of misinformation are detrimental, because lower vaccine acceptance results in more transmissions and deaths. According to Rothwell and Dasai, in a 2020 survey, “just over one in three Republicans (37%) deny that it is definitely true that COVID can be spread by people without symptoms compared to only about one in four (23%) Democrats.” As low vaccination ratesseemtohavepoliticalcauses,thismemosuggestsusingeconomicincentivesandaplurality ofsocio-economicactorstoencouragepolarisedcommunitiestoreceivevaccines.Forexample,

● The government should give out financial vouchers for citizens toaftereachvaccination orbooster;

● The government should provide companies with funding to allow employees to have longerperiodsofpaidleaveafteravaccinationorbooster;and

● Locally trusted, certified health and service NGOsshouldpassoutpamphletslocallyand post government-approvedinformationregardingthebenefitsofCOVID-19vaccinesand boosters.

As a transitioning regime, South Africa is successful in decentralisingpowerdowntoits provinces, facilitating negotiating between government oppositions, and allowing a plurality of channels for communication, yet there exists ethnic conflicts and income gaps (Lieberman and Lekalake 2022). A regime-type approach is important before there should be an active effort to solve ethnic problems and include citizens more in decision making processes, although this memo can also give suggestions according to cultural attitudes because there is a history of underrepresenting Black and Brown populations in policymaking in South Africa. Nonetheless, the goal is to increase citizenry and ethnic representation, collaborate with government oppositions, and decentralise power to increase democratic procedures to increase vaccination ratesinSouthAfrica.Todoso,thetransitioningregimeshoulddothefollowing:

● Provincial leaders should reach out to district leaders and find local representatives to share the benefits of COVID-19 vaccines and boosters within their local communities throughsocialmediapostsandbulletinboardposters;

● Government should use research conducted by scientists with different ethnicities, hospitals and health care facilities should hire front-line workers from different ethnicities;

● Let government officials hold meetings with local representatives to understand the concernsofunvaccinatedcitizens;and

● Ask government oppositions to record government-approved messages to promote vaccinationsthroughradiosandtelevisedmedia.

Russia, a hybrid regime, lies between an electoral democracy and a closed authoritarian regime. The COVID-19 situation in Russia, in particular, should be analyzed through a regime-type approach, because Russia has an extensive historyoftransitioningfromaone-party state, to a transitioning democracy, and now a semi-authoritarian regime (McFaul 2021). In simpler terms, the government now controls the press andclosedpoliticalopposition.AsRussia has spread out populations with alargelandmass,thismemocouldsuggestdifferentpoliciesfor urban and rural areasinRussia.However,withweakdemocraticinstitutions,maintaininghuman rights is a key issue in the state’s attempt to increase vaccination rates. Russia’s regime type, thus, is more significant than issues of population density because extreme measures such as forced lockdowns and the use of violence to ensure citizen compliance could heavily violate international human rights norms. Thus, this memo suggests that Russia appeals not to political ideology or force, and instead appeals to medical research to convince its citizens to receive vaccines.Specifically,

● The government should post the benefits of COVID-19 information on state websites, forums,andstatebuildings;

● Local institutions should notify citizens of lockdowns at least a week before they are imposed;and

● The governmentshouldlimittheuseofimagesofstatefiguresandleft-leaningslogansin attemptstoconvincecitizenstofollowCOVID-19protocolsandtakevaccines.

In the case of China, a single party autocracy, the features of the regime type includean active dictatorship, the use of force, ideology, and censorship, while on the other hand, there is rising international pressure regarding human rights violations in China during COVID-19 (Maizland and Albert 2022; “Meet China’s New Tycoons” 2022). The Chinese government is facing difficulties in maintaining transparency in decision making processes with its people, which have led to multipleinstancesofpublicunrest(MaizlandandAlbert2022).Also,Chinais violating human rights norms by holding down citizens without consent at health camps and persisting month-long apartment lockdowns, prominently in Shanghai in summer 2022 (“Meet China’s New Tycoons”). While the memo can provide policysuggestionsbasedonChina’shigh GDP or its high population, the autocratic regime type is clearly the most significant because

China has largely violated human rights norms and caused a lack of trust amongst citizens towards the legitimacy of the government. As strategies, the government should take the followingmeasures:

● End lockdowns but ensure medical staffs and vaccination supplies are sufficient by investinghugefundsandassigningresponsibilitiesdowntothedistrictlevel;

● Spend extra medical funds on protecting the health of elders and patients with pre-existingdiseases;

● Formallyacknowledgethedetrimentalsocio-economicimpactsofCOVID-19onChinese social media platforms WeChat and Weibo toincreasetransparencybetweengovernment andcitizens;and

● Shorten quarantine periods for foreigners traveling to China, to encourage more international interactions and let Chinese citizens become more aware of loosened COVID-19policiesabroad.

Across regime types, thismemoencouragesstatestousegovernment-approvedmessages to broadcast more medical information regarding the benefits of COVID-19 through various media forms, whether through the form of local NGO social media posts or official televised state broadcasts. In most cases, broadcasting scientific information increases the validity of the government’smessage,andthusincreasesthelegitimacyofthegovernment.However,thememo recognizes that the relationship between the government and citizens are highly different in terms of people’s level of trust in the government, as well as the government’s level of censorship and surveillance across media forms. Thus, according to the regime type, thismemo suggests states can appeal todifferentnon-stateactorstospreadgovernmentmessages,appealto radical lockdown policies, or appeal to economic incentives to boost vaccination rates in an attempt to reduce the severe, long withstanding socio-economic impacts of the globalpandemic ondifferentregimetypes.