COVID‐19, nationalism, and the politics of crisis: A scholarly exchange

Abstract

In this article, several scholars of nationalism discuss the potential for the COVID‐19 pandemic to impact the development of nationalism and world politics. To structure the discussion, the contributors respond to three questions: (1) how should we understand the relationship between nationalism and COVID‐19; (2) will COVID‐19 fuel ethnic and nationalist conflict; and (3) will COVID‐19 reinforce or erode the nation‐state in the long run? The contributors formulated their responses to these questions near to the outset of the pandemic, amid intense uncertainty. This made it acutely difficult, if not impossible, to make predictions. Nevertheless, it was felt that a historically and theoretically informed discussion would shed light on the types of political processes that could be triggered by the COVID‐19 pandemic. In doing so, the aim is to help orient researchers and policy‐makers as they grapple with what has rapidly become the most urgent issue of our times.

Racism and nationalism during and beyond the COVID-19 pandemic

“…Observations about how quickly, long-rehearsed anti-Asian tropes have resurfaced and surged, are typical examples of the relationship between plague and otherness (Echenberg 2002;Hoppe 2018). They suggest that seemingly diminishing racist sentiments may remain close to the surface, ready to be reinvigorated and acted upon with a contemporary twistthis time with China at its epicentreand flavoured by the intractable combination of pandemic, global recession and nationalist fervour (Hartman, forthcoming;Woods et al 2020).…”

Identity, Nationalism and the Response of Turkey to COVID-19 Pandemic

“…Let's show our support to our health workers at every opportunity" Mr. Koca, wrote on social media while President Erdoğan and his wife were also applauding in Istanbul (Booth et al 2020). Such new collective rituals and practices indeed contributed to the rise of nationalist sentiments in Turkey during the pandemic (for a detailed discussion on nationalism and COVID-19, see Woods et al 2020). Meanwhile, the government also continued its infrastructure investments and even hold the first tender of its controversial mega-project of Kanal Istanbul 13 in the midst of the outbreak which was harshly criticized by the city's opposition mayor who defined the tender as "mind boggling" whereas the government blamed him for political opportunism (Turkey Holds First Tender 2020).…”

“…In addition to domestic developments, the AKP government is also relying on the pandemic to score foreign policy points and restore its ontological security in international arena. Foreign policy is indeed tied to nationalism in times of health crisis by means of humanitarian aid to other countries through which the donor extends global influence (for a detailed discussion see, Goode et al 2020;Woods et al 2020). Since the beginning of the outbreak, Turkey sent critical medical supplies and aid to more than 50 countries including its NATO allies such as the UK, US, Spain and Italy as well as many others in the Balkans, Middle East and Africa.…”

Covid-19 as cultural trauma

“…There can be little doubt that the ongoing covid-19 pandemic poses a global threat that has created crisis on many levels, from local communities to states and nations. As Eric Woods et al ( 2020 ) puts it, ‘It has significant potential to trigger multiple, cascading crises in nearly every aspect of our lives. In addition to the presence of a threat, crises typically involve systemic disruption, uncertainty and stress’.…”