Document Type : Research Paper
Authors
1 Professor, Political Science, University of Shiraz, Shiraz, Iran
2 Ph.D Student, Political Science, Shiraz University, Shiraz, Iran
Abstract
Pandemics are among the most important events affecting various economic, social, cultural, and political aspects, hence an acid test of functioning of states. Considered as a kind of intervention in social relations, the epidemic disease, owing to its characteristics, targets the logic of established relationships and can potentially have an epoch-making capability. This internal characteristic renders the epidemic disease completely political. In this respect, the present research tries to answer the key question of what negative and positive effects pandemics exert on politics. The research is based on the hypothesis that pandemics have both negative and positive dimensions. The negative aspects include several issues imposed on societies, such as the increased instability, civil war, insecurity, increased power of the state and statism, rebellion, etc. Meanwhile, pandemics have positive aspects, such as the social and political cohesion, peace and cooperation between nation-states, growth of cyberspace activities and more pressure on the state, cessation of some wars, and growth of political and freedom-seeking movements—which are generally overlooked under the shadow of great challenges.
There is ample literature, both in English and in Persian, on epidemic diseases and the global coronavirus disease. In her book The Impact of Outbreaks of Infectious Diseases on Political Stability, Menzel (2018) argues that the spread of Ebola, tuberculosis, and influenza caused unrest in some countries. Examining about 120 countries during an eighteen-year-long period, she observes that the three diseases were significantly correlated with the level of political stability in the affected countries in a particular year. Moreover, the research on the US policies in prevention of AIDS in African countries observed that the HIV pandemic caused international instability and insecurity, especially in African countries, so HIV has become a priority for the US foreign policy. Despite the research attempts, it seems that the topic has not been dealt with in a focused manner. In this respect, the present article intends to examine each of these pandemics in a historical context in order to shed light on their impact on politics and the political. The present study is thus necessary given its innovative subject.
Focused on a novel research topic, the present study pursues the following objectives: the scientific explanation and analysis of the political effects of pandemics (esp. COVID–19), the analysis of the impact of the COVID–19 pandemic on the nature and performance of states, and the explanation of the effects of the COVID–19 pandemic on transparency, elections, and in general, on democratic processes in different countries.
Imposed on societies throughout history, crises such as pandemics are generally considered as a manifestation of the political. For example, due to the outbreak of plague, merchants closed their shops and fled to the outskirts, which left workers and artisans without a livelihood. The closure of stores caused unemployment, leading to conflict over resources and the ensuing insecurity and chaos. In addition, the pandemic was one of the apparent reasons underlying the population decline, the death of elders, and the death of political and intellectual elite, which gave rise to the urban and rural chaos, insecurity and disorder in social relations, and the political chaos. Cholera is another pandemic affecting political life throughout history. The cholera pandemic not only caused a decline in population and state power as well as an increase in protests in countries such as India, but also disturb the power of empires and the sense of security of Western powers and put their vulnerability at risk. It also created tensions over whether global communications would remain open or closed. The Spanish flu, which occurred during World War I, killed a large number of people, resulted in chaos in different parts of the world, and changed the war plans and peace negotiations. Concerning HIV, the children losing their parents due to the disease are more likely to be recruited to terrorist groups. Furthermore, individuals with HIV, especially women, are excluded from society and politics.
Despite their challenges, pandemics can have positive effects, albeit minimal, on politics. For instance, the plague pandemic caused a revolution of the elite and intellectuals and could stop the Hundred Years’ War between England and France. The influenza pandemic brought a sense of urgency to improve public health, leading to advances in medical science, public health planning, and international cooperation among states. Due to the cholera pandemic, the world states start international cooperation with each other, thus initiating the efforts to conclude international health agreements. HIV has also been an opportunity to correct fundamental injustices and mobilize positive political movements concerning issues such as women’s, children’s, and homosexuals’ rights.
Regarding the negative effects COVID–19, the pandemic challenged and questioned many political issues. For example, it challenged participation in elections and voting as an obvious form of political activity. Moreover, the outbreak of COVID–19 led to a decline in the process of consensus building in most countries, with the executive branch taking and implementing decisions. The pandemic was also used as a pretext for limiting media activities. More importantly, the outbreak of COVID–19 led to an unprecedented increase in injustice and discrimination around the world. Meanwhile, the pandemic created good opportunities, such as generating new forms of civil mobilization, providing the means for human convergence, and reducing defense costs at the national and global levels.
In general, although pandemics fundamentally challenge human life in various fields and particularly in politics, they intentionally or unintentionally open up a few opportunities for politics and politicians. Likewise, the COVID–19 pandemic brought about sweeping changes, created positive trends, and could revive many faded or forgotten areas in the political arena—the aspect which used to be hidden in the heavy shadow of the killing and harm caused by the virus.
Keywords
Main Subjects
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