Contested Terrains? The Politics of Alcohol Bans, Drinking Contexts, and COVID-19 in Botswana

Abstract

The onset of COVID-19 resulted in the adoption of various measures such as lockdowns and alcohol bans. These interventions were new and unprecedented in the way they impacted drinking experiences across various contexts. The impact of COVID-19 lockdowns and other alcohol restrictions in non-Western contexts remains unknown. Little is known about how the strict prohibition of COVID-19 lockdowns impacted drinkers. Using grounded theory methods from an alcohol study based in Botswana with drinkers ( n = 20), this paper investigated the impact of lockdowns and alcohol bans in Botswana. Key themes from the data relate to support for alcohol bans, opposition to bans, and adjusting drinking practices. Drinking at home due to COVID-19 lockdowns led to shifts in drinking practices. The paper draws attention toward the need to understand how the COVID-19 pandemic might impact drinking experiences in developing countries. Study findings point toward the complex ways in which the COVID-19 pandemic and its alcohol restrictions may shape drinking experiences in home contexts. More importantly, the paper highlights the importance of home-drinking as a focal area for research in non-Western contexts.