Scandinavia and Covid-19 : a discourse analysis on national identity and pandemic strategies

Abstract

The Covid-19 pandemic started off as “just another virus” emerging in China where most probably thought it would also remain and sooner or later also fade away. Instead, the virus evolved to a pandemic which held its grip of the world for more than two years and is still affecting several countries in the world. Seen from the outside as a rather homogenous group of countries known to cooperate, the Scandinavian states of Denmark, Norway and Sweden opted for different strategies to combat the virus as opposed to what one might had expected. This thesis suggests dominant national identities as one explanation as to why the strategies differed and how the main implication deriving from this – the lack of cooperation among the states – came about. By using the method of discourse analysis and a theoretical lens of poststructuralism and what has been written on foreign policy and national identity, the thesis seeks to explore how representations of dominant national identities are expressed in the Scandinavian states’ Covid-19 strategies. Moreover, the thesis also explores the implications deriving from the different strategies. I analyze the official discourse of the Scandinavian states in the form of speeches and statements from political leaders and other front figures during the pandemic and find that differences in national identities have indeed affected the strategies.