Global Nationalism in Times of the COVID-19 Pandemic

Abstract

The article outlines the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on nationalism around the world. Starting from the premise that nationalism is a global and ubiquitous idea in the contemporary world, it explores whether exclusionary tendencies have been reinforced by the pandemic. The pandemic and government responses will not necessarily trigger the increase in exclusionary nationalism that both far-right politicians and observers have noted. However, there are 4 aspects, examined in the article, that might be shaped by the pandemic. These include the recent trajectory of nationalism and its social relevance prior to the pandemic,the rise of authoritarianism as governments suspend or reduce democratic freedoms and civil liberties, the rise of biases against some groups associated with the pandemic, the rise of borders and deglobalization, and the politics of fear. Thus, while the rise of exclusionary nationalism might not be the inevitable consequence of the pandemic, it risks reinforcing preexisting nationalist dynamics.

National identity predicts public health support during a global pandemic

“…Thus, while we expect that national identi cation is more likely to cause public health behavior than the other way around, we have no evidence as to the directionality of this effect or whether it would apply during later stages of the current or future pandemics. Indeed, it is possible that national identity increases during times of crisis as people recognize their duty as citizens to help respond to this issue or that a third variable such as international competition explains this correlation (e.g., Bieber, 2020). We encourage future work to examine ways to experimentally manipulate national identi cation or tighten the link between identi cation and the public health measures required to mitigate the spread of the pandemic.…”

“…Accordingly, a strong sense of shared national identity might help promote collective efforts to combat the pandemic within one's country (e.g., Dovidio, Ikizer, Kunst, & Levy, 2020). Moreover, border closures, travel bans, and national task forces have likely made national identities even more salient during the pandemic (Bieber, 2020). The existence and activation of strong collective identities can allow political leaders to mobilize the masses to overcome collective action problems.…”

Between Conspiracy Beliefs, Ingroup Bias, and System Justification: How People Use Defense Strategies to Cope With the Threat of COVID-19

“…The same cannot be stated for group-related reactions: With the spread of the virus, citizens of countries around the world have shown an increase in identification and support for their own national ingroup (Bieber, 2020). At times, this has led to unprecedented acts of collective cooperation and altruistic actions such as shopping for the elderly or sewing face masks (Newman, 2020).…”

“…At times, this has led to unprecedented acts of collective cooperation and altruistic actions such as shopping for the elderly or sewing face masks (Newman, 2020). At the same time, nationalist tendencies (Bieber, 2020) and resentments against outgroups, especially those associated with COVID-19 (e.g., Chinese citizens, Asian-Americans) have been on the rise, too (Lee, 2020). As a consequence, increased discrimination against these groups were registered across countries (Reny and Barreto, 2020;Schild et al, 2020).…”

“…The reason for this is you, dear Austrians" (translated statement by Bundeskanzleramt, 2020), several states entered what might be considered a competition as to who would most efficiently find a solution to the crisis' problems. Furthermore, patriotism and nationalist attitudes saw a rise in several countries during the COVID-19 pandemic (Bieber, 2020). Not just national but also political identities can be enhanced by threat (i.e., party affiliations, see Fritsche et al, 2008).…”