Abstract
Crisis narratives shape public understanding and, consequently, the response to the crisis itself. In the context of the COVID-19 pandemic, when in February 2020 Italy was experiencing more cases than any other country, the Italian response to the crisis originated debates over how to best respond to the outbreak. Informed by Critical Discourse Analysis theory and using narrative networks as a framework for the critical analysis of narratives, this study analyzes the discourse strategies employed by experts, politicians and other social actors from Spain, France, the Netherlands, and the UK when presenting their domestic measures in relation to Italy's response to coronavirus. The analysis shows that the narratives attached to nation-specific decisions were highly culturalized and connected to country-specific shared experiences, such as a sense of national exceptionalism built in opposition with the denigration of Italy as the Other-identity. Attribution of blame and blameworthiness was also found to be a common pattern across countries according to which Italians were framed as wrongdoers but also as deserving blame. The article also presents a comprehensive “timeline of narratives” which opens avenues for a critical reflection on the impact such narratives may have had on the understanding of the crisis, including the creation of a negative climate of division and inappropriate crisis responses.
Highlights
The COVID-19 virus was not the first time that the causative agent behind SARS—a novel kind of coronavirus—was identified in human populations; the SARS epidemic of 2002–2003 had preceded it (Drosten et al, 2003; Ksiazek et al, 2003)
The findings can be synthetized as follows: attribution of blame and blameworthiness was found to be a common pattern constructed around two main themes: (1) Italy was to blame for having taken inappropriate measures; this narrative was found in all the four countries and (2) Italy was responsible for spreading the virus (Spain)
In the context of the COVID-19 crisis, domestic pressures and different styles of public health governance resulted in conflicting approaches to the handling of the pandemic across different nations
Summary
The COVID-19 virus was not the first time that the causative agent behind SARS—a novel kind of coronavirus—was identified in human populations; the SARS epidemic of 2002–2003 had preceded it (Drosten et al, 2003; Ksiazek et al, 2003). SARS had been called “the first pandemic of the 21st century” (LeDuc and Barry, 2004) as it had spread across 29 countries, infected 8,098 people over the course of 8 months, and killed 774 (WHO); just a month after the first COVID-19 confirmed case, the total global case count had surpassed that of SARS. It seemed to have a lower infection fatality rate, the novel coronavirus was spreading much faster. Without any effective diagnosis, therapeutic modalities, enough intensive care facilities, prevention protocols, or vaccine technologies, the most urgent challenge of all was how to contain the spread of a new virus transmitted by respiratory means in the context of the highly globalized world society of the twenty-first century
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