Communicating Solidarity? Public Responses to UK Government Communication of Covid-19
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 7367212 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Giles Mo (0000-0003-3486-7748, University of Leeds, corresponding author), Nely Konstantinova (University of Leeds) |
| Year | 2023 |
| Volume | 60 |
| Issue | 3 |
| Pages | 415-433 |
| Publication date | 2023-10-04 |
| Peer Reviewed | Yes |
| Open Access | Yes |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Representation (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 0034-4893 • E-ISSN: 1749-4001 |
| Publisher | Taylor & Francis (PUBLISHER • GB) |
| DOI | 10.1080/00344893.2023.2263465 |
| OpenAlex | W4387336534 |
| Language | EN |
| References cited | 25 |
This article explores public responses to UK government communication of COVID-19, focusing on public solidarity as a crucial part of an effective pandemic response. Drawing on focus group research with members of the public, we identify three limitations in the way solidarity was communicated by government. What solidarity meant and entailed was not always (1) clear and understandable, (2) adequately justified to all, or (3) demonstrated by the actions of political leaders themselves. In conclusion, we consider the implications of our analysis for how the communication of solidarity could have been improved. Beyond any specific communicative shortcomings, communicating solidarity was always bound to be difficult. What solidarity meant and entailed in the context of the pandemic was never normatively self-evident, especially given the different values and interests at stake. Given this, we suggest that a more deliberative-democratic approach to solidarity would have been both normatively desirable and more likely to be effective in sustaining solidarity. But the need for this approach reveals an underlying systemic weakness in the political-communication environment: the lack of adequate opportunities for those called upon to show solidarity to reflect on, contest, and shape its meaning
CONTEST · Context (archaeology · Deliberative democracy · Democracy · Government (linguistics · Linguistics · Political science · Politics · Public relations · Sociology · Solidarity · Law · Misinformation and Its Impacts · Public Administration · Public Relations and Crisis Communication · Social Media and Politics
The Internet and Democratic Citizenship
Thematic analysis.
The Oxford Handbook of Deliberative Democracy
Solidarity is for other people
Theories of Risk Perception
Justice, Democracy and the Right to Justification
Rethinking the Focus Group in Media and Communications Research
Solidarity in Times of Pandemics
Identity Leadership in a Crisis
Post-Covid
Crisis-ready responsible selves
Recalibrating pandemic risk leadership
The Place of Self‐Interest and the Role of Power in Deliberative Democracy
Four cultures
Deliberation, Citizen Science and Covid‐19
Covid‐19 and the Blunders of our Governments
The mediated construction of reality
Between Facts and Norms
The Social Contexts of Focus Groups
| Citation velocity | historical |
|---|---|
| Highly cited | No |