The Challenge of Nationalism and Populism on Pandemic Response in Romania

• In Event: Graduate Student Research Lightning Round: Authoritarian Regimes, Contested Spaces

Abstract

The Covid-19 pandemic challenged governments and global governance alike. The rise of nationalism and populism across the globe was a significant obstacle for governments, international organizations, and non-government organizations in coordinating a successful pandemic response nationally and globally. Romania is an excellent example of how nationalist and populist messaging significantly threatened the pandemic response. As the pandemic affected the vulnerable population economically, socially, and culturally, the populist party Alliance for the Union of Romanians (AUR) rose to power following the December 2020 parliamentary elections, securing 9% of the vote and becoming the fourth largest party in the Romanian parliament. AUR’s aggressive antisystem, antigovernment, anti-west, extreme nationalistic discourse based on disinformation and misinformation denigrated pandemic safety measures such as wearing a mask or social distancing and spreading Covid-19 vaccine disinformation, slowing down progress in fighting the disease, jeopardizing government authority and leading to a substantial distrust in medical expertise. AUR is one example of a European populist and nationalist movement that has persisted throughout the pandemic and could significantly affect European democracy. This paper is situated in the literature that examines the impact of populist and nationalist rhetoric on global health outcomes. Using qualitative secondary analysis, content analysis, and quantitative cross-sectional ordinary least squares regression, this paper analyzes the consequences of populism and nationalism on the pandemic response in Romania.

Author

• Andreea I Mosila, American Public University