The Politics of Pandemic Othering: Putting COVID-19 in Global and Historical Context

Abstract

As COVID-19 began to spread around the world, so did reports of discrimination and violence against people from marginalized groups. We argue that in a global politics characterized by racialized inequality, pandemics such as COVID-19 exacerbate the marginalization of already oppressed groups. We review published research on previous pandemics to historicize pandemic othering and blame, and enumerate some of the consequences for politics, policy, and public health. Specifically, we draw on lessons from smallpox outbreaks, the third bubonic plague, the 1918 influenza pandemic, and more recent pandemics, such as HIV/AIDS, SARS, and Ebola. We also compile reports to document the discrimination and violence targeting marginalized groups early in the COVID-19 pandemic. This article lays bare the continuation of a long history of othering and blame during disease outbreaks and identifies needs for further inquiry to understand the persistence of these pandemic politics.

Managing borders during public health emergencies of international concern: a proposed typology of cross-border health measures

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Politics of Expertise and Blame during COVID-19 Quarantine in Chile

“…Coronavirus has proved a unique opportunity to remind citizens of the need for such policing." Those not in the current Piñera administration focus more on discipline and are quicker to assign blame to particular groups, echoing the observation that "placing blame during an outbreak by disciplining or isolating those seen as responsible can make mysterious diseases appear controllable" (Dionne and Turkmen 2020).…”

“…The public health crisis forced "high-stakes decisions under conditions of threat, uncertainty, and time pressure" (Lipscy 2020) and demanded the rapid integration and cooperation of medical and political expertise and authority. This convergence of pressures can "bring to light so much of what we might care to ignore" (Poe 2020), revealing variation in political leadership styles and effectiveness (Funk 2020;Glenn, Chaumont, and Villalobos Dintrans MARLAS 4(3), 2021, DOI: 10.23870/marlas.329 2020; Piscopo 2020), governmental extension of control over citizens (Kishi 2020; Lemus-Delgado 2020; Poe 2020), exacerbation of societal tensions and inequities between groups of different identities (Dionne and Turkmen 2020;Woods et al 2020), and the potential for citizens to develop and assert popular sovereignty (Honig 2014; Poe 2020).…”

The pandemic politics of existential anxiety: Between steadfast resistance and flexible resilience

“…Name to blame is a typical pandemic game. Whether dubbing the 1918–1920 pandemic ‘the Spanish Flu’ (though it likely started in the US, not Spain), or rendering Covid a ‘Chinese virus,’ Othering is tempting and chooses to scapegoat and discriminate from within and without (Dionne and Turkmen, 2020). International cooperation, greatly needed in such times, often suffers (Pevehouse, 2020).…”