Citizenship as a Form of Anticipatory Obedience? Implications of Preventive Health Policy in Germany

Abstract

This article scrutinizes citizenship implications in the field of preventive health policy in Germany. While at first glance prevention policies seem fairly uncontroversial, they have intricate links concerning the impact on preventive policies to social citizenship and to the notion of the “good” citizen. I argue that prevention is a future‐oriented permanent task that requires constant alertness and the commitment of responsible citizens to being “ahead of time.” Although originally based on the principles of voluntary compliance and self‐responsibility in Germany, preventive policies are likely to become more compulsory in the aftermath of the COVID‐19 pandemic that has, in effect, been a collective crash course on the importance of prevention and its range of policy tools. Under the prevention paradigm, active citizenship requires anticipatory action—that may turn into obedience—due to the imminent danger of assumed health risks.Related Articles in this Special IssueBarrault‐Stella, Lorenzo, and Thomas Douniès. 2021. “Introduction to the Special Issue: Citizenship as a Tool of Government in Europe.” Politics & Policy 49 (4).Haapajärvi, Linda. 2021. “On the Importance of Playing House: Belonging‐Work and the Making of Relational Citizens in Finnish Immigrant Integration Policies.” Politics & Policy 49 (4).Mioni, Michele. 2021. “The ‘Good Citizen’ as ‘Respectable Worker:' State, Unemployment, and Social Policy in the United Kingdom and Italy, 1930 to 1950.” Politics & Policy 49 (4).