Pandemics, prejudice, and perceptions of blame: Securitising the Covid-19 response in South Africa

The Covid-19 pandemic was experienced by all; regardless of class, borders, gender, or race. What has come to light, however, is the fact that certain demographics have been disproportionately affected, either due to historical social inequalities actively shaping the virus' epidemiological profile (Bowman, 2020; Gibb et al., 2020), or the socio-political consequences associated with large-scale health behaviour change. This research seeks to explore the latter.

The South African (SA) pandemic response has been heavily securitised. Speech acts by Cyril Ramaphosa (News24, 2020; AFP, 2020) rationalised its elevation beyond the scope of 'normal politics', justifying the loss of some liberties as necessary for the protection of life. However, the national lockdown imposed was also accompanied by stark militarisation (Malik et al., 2021: 4), with armed police and army units deployed to ensure compliance. Given SA's history of strained relationships between citizens and security forces, the militarisation of the pandemic was widely criticised (de Waal, 2021; Kalla and Laher, 2020; Green, 2021). Media outlets highlighted cases of police harassment, assault, murder, and arbitrary detention (Noko, 2020; Seleka, 2020). Policing was more pronounced in poorer, overcrowded townships than wealthier, gated communities fortified by private security measures (Bank, 2020), while women and migrants were also disproportionately affected due to their greater role within the informal economy (Casale and Posel, 2021; Dlamini, 2021).

Scholarship has shown how the social construction of disease is often linked to foreigners, out-groups, and alien practices (Ngubane, 1977; Goldin, 1994; Joffé.1999; Rödlach, 2006). Positioning itself within the debate regarding the scope and subject of security, and whether the securitisation of disease does more harm than good, this research seeks to explore how the securitisation of health issues influences perceptions of blame and responsibility for disease outbreaks and how the perceived sense of heightened risk associated with securitisation reinforces the Self/Other dichotomy within societies.