POLITICAL
COMMUNICATION AND COVID-19
Governance and Rhetoric in Times of Crisis
Edited by Darren Lilleker, Ioana A. Coman,
Miloš Gregor and Edoardo Novelli
First published 2021 by Routledge
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CONTENTS
Tables Contributors Foreword
x xi xviii Introduction: Political communication, governance and
rhetoric in times of crisis
Ioana A. Coman, Dalia Elsheikh, Miloš Gregor, Darren Lilleker and Edoardo Novelli
1
CASE STUDIES 17
1 World Health Organisation: The challenges of providing global leadership
Darren Lilleker and Miloš Gregor 19
2 China: Diversion, ingratiation and victimisation Menglin Liu and Shan Xu
34
3 Japan: New directions for digital Japan
Leslie Tkach-Kawasaki 44
4 South Korea: No shutdown, no lockdown Jangyul Robert Kim and Sera Choi
55 5 The United States: Politics versus science?
John M. Callahan 67
viii Contents
6 The EU: The story of a tragic hero and the 27 dwarfs
Dennis Lichtenstein 79
7 France: An unpopular government facing an unprecedented crisis
Pierre-Emmanuel Guigo 88
8 Australia: A triumph of sorts Fiona Wade
99
9 Germany: Between a patchwork and best-practice
Isabelle Borucki and Ulrike Klinger 111 10 India: A spectacle of mismanagement
Chindu Sreedharan
123
11 Italy: The frontrunner of the Western countries in an unexpected crisis
Edoardo Novelli
132
12 Spain: Managing the uncertain while facing economic collapse Sergio Pérez Castaños and Alberto Mora Rodríguez 145 13 Sweden: Lone hero or stubborn outlier?
Bengt Johansson and Orla Vigsø
155
14 The UK: From consensus to confusion
Ruth Garland and Darren Lilleker 165
15 Egypt: Emotive speech masks a complicated reality Dalia Elsheikh
177
16 Russia: A glass wall
Svetlana S. Bodrunova 188
17 Austria: A ski resort as the virus slingshot of Europe Katie Bates and Lore Hayek
201 18 Iran: Disciplinary strategies and governmental campaigning
Azra Ghandeharion and Josef Kraus 211
Contents ix
19 Brazil: More than just a little flu
Ícaro Joathan, Andrea Medrado and Thainã Medeiros 220 20 Norway: From strict measures to pragmatic flexibility
Bente Kalsnes and Eli Skogerbø
231
21 Iceland: No lockdown and experts at the forefront
Jón Gunnar Ólafsson 239
22 Ireland: Solid swansong from caretaker government Dawn Wheatley
248
23 The Czech Republic: Self-proclaimed role models
Otto Eibl and Miloš Gregor 259
24 Hungary: Illiberal crisis management
Norbert Merkovity, Márton Bene and Xénia Farkas
269
25 Poland: Protecting the nation while struggling to maintain power
Michał Jacuński
280
26 Ghana: Political expediency or competent leadership?
Sally Osei-Appiah 292
27 South Africa: A united front? A divided government Robert Mattes and Ian Glenn
303
28 Kosovo: Political crisis, one more challenge alongside COVID-19
Dren Gërguri
312
29 Turkey: Declaring war on an epidemic
Elif Kahraman 323
30 Political communication and COVID-19: Governance and rhetoric in global comparative perspective
Darren Lilleker, Ioana Coman, Miloš Gregor and Edoardo Novelli 333