How the pandemic affects. The politization of feeling amidst a global health crisis

Curator: Anna Iskra

This thematic cluster explores different ways in which the responses to the COVID-19 pandemic highlight the centrality of the concept of feeling to the political projects carried out by nation states.

What are the (in)appropriate emotional responses to this global health crisis and who decides about such categorizations? What emotions are considered patriotic, civil, normal? Which emotions are linked to social instability, disruptiveness, deviance? How is the affective atmosphere (Anderson 2009) of the pandemic imagined and felt by state bureaucrats, mental health experts, and in the broader society? How do these different imaginations generate political change or strengthen the status quo? What modes of feeling are thought to generate social solidarity, and which are pathologized as anti-social, causing certain groups to become “affect aliens” (Ahmed 2014)? How does the concept of mental health play into this politicization of emotions during the pandemic? What types of emotionality are considered healthy, which are conceptualized as signs of deteriorating mental health, and what are the political implications of such imaginations? What about feeling “disaffected” (Yao 2021) by the pandemic? Does such disaffection generate political consequences? How do the discourses on emotional health and pathology disseminated by experts become incorporated into states’ practices of therapeutic governing (Yang 2017; Zhang 2017)? Or, conversely, how do such discourses challenge the political status quo? 

By examining literature on mental health during the pandemic (including but not limited to academic journals, newspaper and online articles, pop-psychology and self-help, government-issued brochures) through the lens of politicized emotion, this cluster hopes to highlight how individual and collective affective responses to the pandemic are deeply intertwined with local socio-political contexts and, as such, cannot be reduced to the discreet realm of inner life and universalized.

 

  • Ahmed, Sara. 2014. “Not in the Mood.” New Formations 82: 13–28.
  • Anderson, Ben. 2009. “Affective Atmospheres.” Emotion, Space and Society 2 (2): 77–81.
  • Yao, Xine. 2021. Disaffected: The Cultural Politics of Unfeeling in Nineteenth-century America. Duke University Press.
  • Yang, Jie. 2017. Mental Health in China: Change, Tradition, and Therapeutic Governance. John Wiley & Sons.
  • Zhang, Li. 2017. “The Rise of Therapeutic Governing in Postsocialist China.” Medical Anthropology 36 (1): 6-18.

 

Russia

The text provided in this cluster highlight the centrality of such emotional concepts as ‘crisis of confidence’, ‘learned helplessness’ (i.e. the belief that no matter what actions humanity takes, nothing will change, but will only get worse), ‘endurance to suffering’ (притерпелость), ‘anxiety’ and ‘fear’. During the covid pandemic in Russia, anxiety and fear of infection became predictors of following recommendations to stay at home during a pandemic. At the same time historically constructed distrust towards authorities (in the state, the media, healthcare and science) accelerated, provoking an increased level of control over society. Government and media blamed and shamed those ‘agents of covid’ who were against vaccination with domestic vaccines, whereas therapists appealed to the rhetoric of ‘self-survival’ (самовыживания) and ‘own spiritual abilities’, in a situation when rational solutions did not work. In Russia, people were left with two choices – either the endless horror (and hopelessness) or vaccination with Sputnik. As people were faced with no alternative choice for a way out of the pandemic situation, the deprivation of the alternatives, the absence of any choice (the ‘absolute evil’) led people to a variety of methods of psychological defense, including protest behavior as a reaction to the blocking of choice.

See abstracts and keywords for the articles covering Russia (pdf).

  1. “Psychology of the crisis – reconstruction of perspectives in conditions of the pandemic and infodemic,” In: Society and the Pandemic [Глава 7: Психология кризиса — реконструкция перспектив в условиях пандемии и инфодемии. Общество и пандемия. Опыт и уроки борьбы с COVID-19 в России, pp. 515–580. Asmolov. A. et al, 2020, Accessed 28.06.2024

  2. Comparison of Anxiety and Depression Rates in Russian Health Care Professionals in 2020 and 2023. Timur Syunyakov, Yana Zorkina, Alexandra Ochneva, Olga Abramova, Valeria Savenkova, Polina Alekseeva, Irina Shchelkanova, Anna Goncharova, Irina Alekseenko, Olga Karpenko, George Kostyuk, Anna Morozova.

  3. ‘Impact of work and study during pandemic on the mental state of medical professionals.’ Неврология, нейропсихиатрия, психосоматика. 2022;14(5):36–42 (Russian) Medvedev V, Dogotar O., Lyzlova N.

  4. Features of the perceived life situation during the pandemic [Е. В. Битюцкая, А. А. Херувимова, Т. И. Мирзамедова, А. К. Скворцова, А. А. Спицына. Особенности воспринимаемой жизненной ситуации впериодпандемии. In: СПОСОБНОСТИ И МЕНТАЛЬНЫЕ РЕСУРСЫ ЧЕЛОВЕКАВ МИРЕ ГЛОБАЛЬНЫХ ПЕРЕМЕН, red. А. Л. Журавлёв, М. А. Холодная, П. А. Сабадош], pp. 1043-1051 (Russian) Bitiutskaya et al. (2020).

  5. Optimism and fear of infection as predictors of observing stay-at-home recommendations duringCOVID-19 pandemic. Konsul'tativnaya psikhologiya i psikhoterapiya = Counseling Psychology andPsychotherapy, 2021. Vol. 29, no. 3, pp. 24—44. DOI: https://doi.org/10.17759/cpp.2021290303 (In Russ., abstr. in Engl.) [Сычев О.А., Гордеева Т.О., Виндекер О.С., Довгер М.А., Титова Граншам В.А. Оптимизм и страх заражения как предикторы следования рекомендациям оставаться дома вовремя пандемии COVID-19 // Консультативная психология и психотерапия. 2021. Т. 29. № 3. С. 24—44. DOI: https://doi.org/10.17759/cpp.2021290303] (Russian) Sychev О.А., Gordeeva Т.О., Vindeker О.S., Dovger М.А., Titova Grandchamp V.А.

  6.  Socio-Psychological Preconditions and Effects of Trust in Social Institutions in a Pandemic. Monitoring of  Public Opinion: Economic and Social  Chan ges. No. 6. P. 427–447. https://doi.org/10.14515/monitoring.2020.6.1770. (In Russ.) [Макушева М. О., Нестик Т. А. Социально-психологические предпосылки и эффекты доверия социальным институтам  в  условиях  пандемии   // Мо ни то ринг  об щест вен но го  мнения:  эко-но ми чес кие  и со ци аль ные  перемены.  2020.  No 6.  С. 427—447.]  Makusheva M. O., Nestik T. A. (2020). 

  7. Socio-Demographic Profiles, Personality Traits, Values, and Attitudes of COVID-Skeptics in Russia (in Russian). Monitoring or public opinion: Economic and Social Changes. No. 6. P. 410–435. [Соколов Б. О., Завадская М. А. Социально-демографические особенности, личностные черты, ценности и установки ковид-скептиков в России ​ // Мониторинг общественного нения: экономические и социальные перемены. 2021. № 6. С. 410—435. (Russian) Sokolov B. O., Zavadskaya M. A. (2021). 

Nigeria and Ghana, West Africa

See abstracts and keywords for the articles covering Nigeria and Ghana (pdf).

Nigeria

The compilation of this theme from the Nigerian setting shows that some of the media houses were regulated by political forces in reporting negative emotions related to the pandemic especially those media companies belonging to political bodies. Still linked with the media, there is also literature showing the manner in which news/information about the pandemic were reported some of which were emotionally objectified or anchoring. Finally, literature also indicates the use of memes to construct emotions of fear or trigger humour among the public according to social media posts.

  1. Television News Coverage of COVID-19 Pandemic in Nigeria: Missed Opportunities to Promote Health Due to Ownership and Politics

  2. A Conceptual Act Analysis of the Emotive Use of COVID-19 Memes on Nigeria-related Social Media Platforms. Idegbekwe, D., Teibowei, M. T., & Onopa, Y.

  3. Representation of COVID-19 Pandemic by Select Nigerian Online Newspapers. Ojebuyi, B. R., Ogunkunle, D. O., & Odebiyi, S. D.

Ghana

The database on politics of affect compiled from literature produced from Ghana shows that the government resorted to frequent and consistent communication / update to the public about the state of the pandemic in the country. These updates and policies communicated to the public did not directly focus on national affect but analysis of the content of the speeches made by the President of the republic have reported the use of specific statements to encourage calmness and instill hope. 

  1. Government communication during the Covid-19 pandemic in Ghana. International Journal of Public Administration, 44(13), 1175-1188. Antwi-Boasiako, J., & Nyarkoh, E. (2021).

  2. Crisis communications at the start of the Covid-19 pandemic: A case study of the Ghanaian president’s fourth update on coronavirus. Legon Journal of the Humanities, 34(1), 3-35. Koller, V. (2023).

  3. Constructing collective identities and solidarity in premiers’ early speeches on COVID-19: a global perspective. Humanities and Social Sciences Communications, 8(1). Berrocal, M., Kranert, M., Attolino, P., Santos, J. A. B., Santamaria, S. G., Henaku, N., ... & Salamurović, A. (2021).

Hong Kong, China

This article recommends several adjustment strategies to deal with pandemic-induced stress that draw from positive psychology. It cites the guidelines published by the National Health Commission for psychological crisis intervention during the COVID-19 pandemic. The guidelines list common emotional states that serve as self-protection mechanisms (ziwo baohu jizhi) during health crises, such as panic, fear of leaving the house, obsessive cleanliness, disappointment, fear, irritability, aggression, excessive optimism, as well as giving up. The author states that people’s efforts to cultivate positive emotions should be positively correlated with the severity of the crises. This is the best way to “win this war without gunpowder” (mei you xiaoyan de zhanzheng). Negative emotions are avoidance-oriented (huibi daoxiang) and are rooted in individual fight or flight responses. They can trigger hypochondriac behaviors, paranoia, insomnia, or anorexia. Conversely, positive emotions can foster pro-activeness, creativity, productivity, and solution-oriented thinking. They can trigger growth. To cultivate positive emotions, one should learn to avoid rumors online and only rely on authoritative government sources of information. Individuals should pay attention to maintaining a regular schedule and exercise according to the “333 principle”, that is no less than three times a week, for no less than 30 minutes, and with the heart rate reaching about 130 beats per minute right after the exercise. Once can also practice breathing exercises, writing and drawing, as well as cultivate social networks and hobbies that require concentration and focus.

See abstracts and keywords for the articles covering Hong Kong (pdf).

  1. “Big Data Analysis of ‘the Five Sentiments’ in Emergency Prevention and Control in the Early Stage of the COVID-19 Pandemic” (新冠肺炎疫情前期应急防控的“五情”大数据分析). Governance Studies 192(2): 6-20. (in Mandarin) PENG Zongchao, HUANG Hao, WU Hongtao, and XIE Qihui. 2020.

  2. “Research on the Emotional Labor of Community Workers. Taking Community Governance Practice in City C as an Example” (社区工作者情感劳动研究 ——以C市社区治理实践为例). PhD thesis. Jilin University. (in Mandarin) LI, Zhe. 2023.

  3. “Study of the Public Sentiment Guidance Dimension of Humorous Videos during a Crisis. Taking the COVID-19 Pandemic Videos and Bullet Chatting on the Bilibili Website as an Example” (幽默视频在公共危机中的公众情绪引导功能研究——以bilibili网站新冠肺炎疫情视频及其弹幕为例). Journalism Research Guide14 (05): 16-21. (in Mandarin) XIONG Siwei, LU Jiahui, and LI Junkai. 2023.

  4. “Fighting the Pandemic with Positive Attitude” (积极心态抗击疫情). Chinese Journal of Mental Health 34(03): 237. (in Mandarin) LU Lin. 2020.

  5. “Public Psychological Adjustment Strategies Under Pandemic Stress. A Brief Analysis of the Cultivation and Maintenance of Positive Emotions (疫情应激状态下大众心理调适策略——浅析积极情绪的培养与保持). United Journal of Tianjin Vocational Colleges 24(09): 124-128. (in Mandarin) 2022. JIA Fei.

Colombia, Latin America

This selection of articles groups together a set of Colombian publications that reflect on the importance of affects, or rather on the relationship between affects and the politics of the COVID-19 pandemic. The articles gathered here demonstrate how the mobilization of feelings and affects has gained special resonance in the new scenario of the pandemic era. Indeed, the prominence that social media has gained in modern societies, and its role in the political arena, has been an important theme in contemporaneity. In Colombia, this process did not go unnoticed. The article by Rodríguez-Orejuela and colleagues (2022) draws attention to the manifestation of feelings among Colombians regarding the COVID-19 vaccination campaign manifested on Twitter. Similarly, the article by Botero-Rodríguez and colleagues (2023), looked at the same social media platform but analyzed the expression of feelings regarding broader political and social phenomena that occurred in the country during the COVID-19 pandemic. They sought to situate these feelings in a non-reductionist context to the pandemic, or about the spread of the virus itself, calling attention instead, to other relevant social dynamics that took place during the turbulent times of the pandemic and the politics beneath them.

However, the Colombian debate on feelings was not limited to social media platforms. Monitoring the affects that emerged in the population during the pandemic was also an important barometer of the sentiments experienced in the country during that time. In the case of Colombia, this monitoring was particularly relevant given the recent peacebuilding process, signed in 2016 between the government and armed groups that remained in conflict for over fifty years, and which is still in the process of construction. Affects, therefore, became a matter of central concern as an increase in negative feelings could trigger a revival of conflict. 

The article by Diana Rico and colleagues (2020) seeks to gather empirical quantitative data to monitor these feelings during the initial stages of the pandemic and reflect on the challenges faced by national citizens to adapt to a “new normality” and at the same time to cope with anxiety and distress and maintain standards of peaceful conviviality.

Castaño Díaz and colleagues (2022), however, are the only authors in this collection to establish a more direct relationship between the expression of affects and mental health. They have aimed to trace a map of symptoms and feelings related to mental health and isolation, using standardized assessment rating scales.

Overall, the ensemble of articles in this collection demonstrates that politics of affects and emotions also occupied a central stage in the minds of Colombian scholars during the pandemic. This theme was significant amid the current global debate about the role of the new social platforms and their relationship with political life in contemporaneity, especially in relation to the spread of disinformation on social media, which can manipulate public opinion, distort political debates, and undermine trust in democratic institutions. As part of a global debate, the rapid dissemination of false information on these platforms has raised questions about their role in shaping public perception and influencing electoral outcomes. However, these articles should also be read taking into consideration the specificity of the Colombian case, more particularly the political turmoil that was raised during the pandemic, which revitalized concerns with the peacebuilding process, longstanding traditions of social contestation and pervasive inequality.

See abstracts and keywords for the articles covering Colombia (pdf).

  1. “Feelings towards COVID-19 Vaccination: Colombian Panorama on Twitter” (Sentimientos hacia el vacunación contra la covid-19: panorama colombiano en Twitter). Palabra Clave, 25(1), e2514. Rodríguez-Orejuela, A., Montes-Mora, C. L. y Osorio-Andrade, C. F. (2022).

  2. “Analysis of Perceptions and Emotional Repercussions in Twitter Users in Colombia During the COVID-19 Pandemic” (Análisis de percepciones y repercusiones emocionales en usuarios de Twitter en Colombia durante la pandemia de COVID-19). Rev colomb psiquiat. 2023; 52(3):206–212.  Felipe Botero-Rodríguez et al.

  3. “Public policies for the adaptive management of covid-19: New normality in Colombia” (Políticas públicas para el afrontamiento adaptativo del Covid-19: nueva normalidad en Colombia). Análisis político nº 100, Bogotá, septiembre - diciembre de 2020, págs. 92- 117. Diana Rico, Idaly Barreto, Manuel Mendoza, Paola Pulido, Sheyla Duran (2020). 

  4. “Mental Health of People Under Isolation During the covid-19 Outbreak: An Exploratory Study” (La Salud Mental de Personas en Aislamiento Durante el Brote De covid-19: Estudio Exploratorio). Revista Colombiana de Psicología, 31(2), 27–43. Castaño Díaz, C. M., Berrío García, N., Alba-Marrugo, M. A., Sánchez Escudero, J. P., Marín-Cortés, A. y Tungjitcharoen, W. (2022).
  5. “The perceptions and feelings of children in Colombia in confinement due to COVID-19” (Las percepciones y sentimientos de los niños y niñas en Colombia en el confinamiento por COVID – 19). Universidad Nacional de Colombia. Gutiérrez Barbosa, D. (2023).