‘Failing forward’: a critique in light of covid-19

This article examines the policy responses of the European Union (EU) and the United States (US) to the Covid-19 pandemic during its first twelve months. The intensity of the policy challenge, and the ways in which both political systems have been forced to respond, create a 'moment révélateur' – a revealing inflection point – that casts light on their relative institutional strengths and weaknesses. It is also a propitious moment for evaluating existing analytical frameworks, in this case the 'failing forward' approach to studying the EU. Far from 'failing forward', the pandemic has revealed the EU's ability to innovate and build new institutions, while effective US crisis management through early 2021 was impeded by poor leadership, political polarization and institutional gridlock.