Securitization of the Covid-19 pandemic by metaphoric discourse during the state of emergency in Hungary

Datos Bibliográficos

ID11196002
AutoresAnna Molnár (0000-0002-7958-6985, Ludovika University of Public Service, autor de correspondencia), Lili Takács (0000-0001-9085-6168, Ludovika University of Public Service), Éva Jakusné Harnos (0000-0002-4973-5011, Ludovika University of Public Service)
Año2020
Volumen40
Número9/10
Páginas1167-1182
Fecha de publicación2020-12-02
Peer ReviewedSí
Open AccessSí
TipoARTICLE
RevistaInternational Journal of Sociology and Social Policy (JOURNAL)
Identificadores de la revistaISSN: 0144-333X • E-ISSN: 1758-6720
EditorialEmerald (PUBLISHER)
DOI10.1108/ijssp-07-2020-0349
OpenAlexW3095485666
IdiomaEN
Citas recibidas11
Referencias citadas32

Purpose Politicians' response to the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic worldwide relied on war scenarios having a tradition in disease management. The study contrasts how the political measures introduced during the state of emergency were presented by the Prime Minister of Hungary in his social media posts and his speeches and announcements broadcast by public media. Design/methodology/approach A computer-assisted content analysis was conducted to extract data on war and military metaphors, followed by a qualitative analysis of the metaphor scenarios used for explaining the situation and justifying action. The role of the prime minister (PM) indicated by the social media posts and by his transcripted speeches was compared with the suggestion of the visual illustrations. Findings The study’s findings were that verbal communication shifted between war-related metaphoric to military-related realistic. The third conceptual domain identified was fear. Messages were mostly about national cohesion, however, visually, the PM was the protagonist of the events. The communication proved efficient according to opinion polls. Originality/value The research revealed how the securitization of the pandemic took place via the political discourse constructed both for Internet users and traditional media consumers. Metaphors of fear, war and military action created the justification of the declaration of a state of emergency. The PM as a capable and responsible leader was placed in focus of the events. Although verbal messages by the PM were centred on a sense of community and joint action, the personalization of political action was remarkable by indirect means, such as visual messages. The personalization of politics throughout the period researched served the purpose of securitization of the pandemic with the PM as a charismatic leader attracting attention and giving credit to the severity of the threat along with the introduction of extraordinary measures

Critical discourse analysis · Linguistics · Media studies · Metaphor · Political science · Politics · Sociology · State of exception · Global Security and Public Health · Law · Public Relations and Crisis Communication · Terrorism, Counterterrorism, and Political Violence