Theorizing State Power

The Multi-Sites of Power Approach, Race, and New York State’s COVID-19 Treatment Guidelines

Abstract

We might re-examine critical state theory by exploring the state’s role in mediating conflicts around racism in the US during the COVID-19 pandemic. Specifically, we argue that the New York State Department of Public Health’s guidance for COVID treatments in 2021 is best understood in the context of larger social struggles against racism in policing in the US, demonstrating the relevance of the multi-sites of power approach to state theory. We re-tool aspects Bob Jessop’s critical state theory to argue for the salience of this approach in understanding contemporary state attempts to create social order out of societal divisions.