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This means war! The impact of framing pandemic response as “war”

Institution

NYU Center for Global Affairs

Country

Global

Type of Study

Comparative case study

Methodology

Survey

Key Focus of Study

The response to Covid19 is often framed as a war: the virus is an enemy; medical workers are described as being on the frontlines; the effort to treat patients is a battle. Looking at this issue through the lens of securitization theory and exploring the impact of metaphors, this project examines the implications of framing pandemic response in martial terms, using historical and contemporary examples from around the world.--both positive (e.g. unity of effort, national mobilization of resources) and negative (e.g. militarization of response, abrogation of civil liberties in deference to 'national security', a 'sacrifice calculus' whereby lives are commodified, etc.).

Funding Institution(s)

National Science Foundation-funded Social Science Extreme Events Research (SSEER) Network and the CONVERGE facility at the Natural Hazards Center at the University of Colorado Boulder (NSF Award #1841338)

Status

Ongoing

More information

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