Democracies and autocracies amid the pandemic: the Matthew eﬀect
The author examines the actions of states in crisis and emergency situations and conducts a comparative analysis of the emergency measures taken by the governments of democratic states and hybrid regime states. The author notes the Matthew eﬀect: the actions of the institutions of political power of democratic and undemocratic countries in the conditions of the regime of increased readiness at a superficial examination seem similar, but have a diﬀerent eﬀect. In democracies, the restriction of some of the freedoms of citizens fits into the general trend toward humanization of politics. At the same time, autocracies presumably use the crisis to redistribute power resources toward the executive branch and to normalize the suppression of civic engagement.