Patterns of populist mobilization: comparing narratives on COVID-19 in the global South

This article explores the narratives shaping the official discourse on COVID-19 in five countries governed by populists in different world regions. It is based on the assumption that a crisis like the pandemic constitutes a perfect occasion for populist mobilization, allowing populist leaders to construct reality in their favour by deliberately promoting own narratives about the pandemic, its origin and management. Analyzing 357 original-language speeches and statements by representatives of the populist governments of Brazil, Israel, India, Mexico and Turkey, the article shows that populists in power use crises to mobilize support in very different ways. Surprisingly, most populist governments neither resorted to anti-scientific claims or conspiratorial discourses attributing the crisis to obscure elites, nor blamed minorities not belonging to the 'true people'. By contrast, except for Bolsonaro in Brazil, all other populist governments tried to mobilize support by emphasizing the strength of the 'people' or even by promoting an inclusive discourse of national unity, leaving aside the more divisive elements of their general populist discourse. Based on the cases analysed, the article concludes by developing hypotheses on the possible drivers of such variations in patterns of populist mobilization. [ FROM AUTHOR]

Making Sense of Risky Haredi Behaviors in Israel During the Covid-19 Pandemic

Covid-19 not only posed a threat to the bodies of individuals or their mental health but also disrupted routines that are re-producing certain communities every day. This is particularly the case for communities with already securitized identities such as the ultra-Orthodox (Haredi) society in Israel. Its authentic narrative, routines and practices that had been sustained thanks to their decades-long autonomy within the state, faced a substantial challenge when the state-led pandemic measures arrived in Haredi towns. This article seeks to explain the Haredi non-compliance with certain pandemic instructions like closing religious and educational centers, through the conceptual lens of an ontological security approach. It argues that the ontological security concerns of the Haredi leadership hampered them from fully complying with the state-led pandemic measures, even at the expense of risking the lives of individual Haredim. © 2022, International Relations Council of Turkey. All rights reserved.