ABSTRACT
The outbreak of the pandemic in spring 2020 in Austria (and many other states) not only resulted in fundamental rights and freedoms being restricted by “lockdowns” in a hitherto unimagined way but also presented the state organization of all states, regardless of their degree of decentralization, with very special challenges. This article first aims to evaluate the significance of cooperative federalism for federal states in general and specifically with regard to its “performance” in the context of the COVID-19 crisis. This will be followed by an illustration of how cooperation between the federation and the states has functioned since the beginning of the crisis and which cooperation and coordination mechanisms characterize COVID-19-management. In addition to exploring possible potential for improvement in the area of cooperative federalism, the question arises as to whether cooperative federalism has changed per se in Austria as a result of the crisis and what role will be assigned to it in the future. The (socio-)economic consequences of the crisis are also highlighted in passing.
