Exploring The US Failure On COVID-19 From The Perspective Of Level Of Analysis

It is indeed a baffling anomaly that the United States,the sole superpower of the world,has failed so disastrously in the prevention and control of COVID-19.Existing explanations that place blame on either the American government,the US society or the federal system alone are simplistic,one-sided and even misleading.As a matter of fact,the highly contagious and dangerous nature of this outbreak means that an effective response requires a comprehensive strategy that takes a whole-of-government and whole-of-society approach.By adopting the method of level of analysis,the thesis discovers that in dealing with the pandemic,the federal system,the Trump administration,and the American society all have a role to play.Besides,responses to the pandemic at the three levels are actually intertwined and mutually influence one another.The federal system provides the basic institutional arrangement under which the federal government can play some kind of leading role and at the same time state and local governments enjoy a very high degree of autonomy.As a result,lots of inconsistencies occur in their respective responses to the pandemic,reducing or even counteracting the efforts of some positive measures.Besides,the Trump administration,as the federal response leader,has adopted many wrong policies with a strong Trump style.In addition,responses from the the American society haven’t been effective due to the implications of social disintegration,mistrust in the government,individualism and anti-intellectualism,despite of the advanced US medical system.The reinforced and accumulated effects of the factors at these three levels,have made the US prevention and control of the COVID-19 worse and more fragmented.This study provides a new perspective through a three-level analysis for having a more in-depth and comprehensive understanding of the United States’ failed response to COVID-19.To some extent,the COVID-19 pandemic has presented itself as a mirror for people to capture more of the whole picture of the United States and rethink about the deficiencies of the American political system,domestic governance,society and most of all its underlying values.