本研究試圖探討危機情境對民主制度的衝擊。新冠疫情作為各國共同面臨的突發性公共危機，對各國民主制度造成不同程度的影響：部分國家的民主程度明顯下降，另一些國家則維持相對穩定。然而，既有文獻對於新冠疫情是否會導致民主倒退，尚未形成一致結論。為了處理這個文獻缺口，本文主張教育程度會影響疫情衝擊與民主程度之間的關係。本論文採用混合研究法，在量化分析運用跨國資料檢驗假設，分析結果顯示：當一國受到疫情影響程度愈高，且該國平均教育水平愈低時，該國民主指數下降的程度預期愈高。其次，在質化研究的層面來看，本論文以義大利與挪威作為經典案例進行探討，透過比較兩國的社會回應與政府政策，本文進一步說明教育程度如何影響公民監督能力、政策服從與制度信任，進而形塑疫情期間民主制度的穩定性。總體來說，本論文為危機治理、社會條件與民主制度韌性的學術文獻提供了若干貢獻。

This study examines the impact of crisis contexts on democratic institutions. As a sudden public crisis faced, The COVID-19 pandemic placed varying degrees of pressure across countries: while some countries experienced a clear erosion of democracy, others remained relatively stable. However, the existing literature remains divided on whether the COVID-19 pandemic contributed to democratic backsliding. To fill this gap in the literature, this study proposes that education shapes effect of pandemic severity on the quality of democracy.
This study employs a mixed-methods research design. In the quantitative analysis, cross-national data are used to test the proposed hypothesis. The quantitative analysis tests the hypothesis using cross-national data, while the qualitative component draws on the cases of Italy and Norway to further illustrate the underlying mechanisms. By comparing social responses and government policies in the two countries, this study further explains how education affects citizens’ capacity for public oversight, policy compliance, and institutional trust, thereby shaping the stability of democratic institutions during the pandemic. Overall, this study contributes to the literature on crisis governance, and impact of social conditions in democratic resilience.

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