Covidocracy – An Analysis of Narratives About the Pandemic in the Function of Capturing the State
Covidocracy – An Analysis of Narratives About the Pandemic in the Function of Capturing the State

Author(s): Jelena Pejić Nikić, Srđan Hercigonja
Subject(s): Politics, Civil Society, Governance, Security and defense, Health and medicine and law, Welfare services, Globalization
Published by: BCBP Beogradski centar za bezbednosnu politiku
Keywords: Serbian Security Policy; State Capture; Covid-19
Summary/Abstract: Although the analysis covers the entire year 2020 and the beginning of 2021, the greatest attention was given to the state of emergency in the spring of 2020. The construction of the narrative was facilitated in the conditions of excessive presence of government representatives in the media, at almost daily press conferences, addresses to the nation, and numerous appearances of the President of the Republic, the Prime Minister, doctors from the government’s Crisis Response Team and several ministers on television. In addition, access to authentic information on the consequences of the pandemic was largely denied to the public. In that narrative, the holders of power, the President of the Republic in particular, were presented as skillful and dedicated saviors of the citizens from the plague. The elderly population, the functionality of the healthcare system and the economy took turns as priorities (victims) that needed to be protected.

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