Political Effects of Epidemic Psychology (the Case of the COVID-19)

The COVID-19 pandemic has impacted not only public health, economics, and politics, but also has had profound psychological effects, which in turn affect all spheres of life of individual states and the international community as a whole. To explore this impact, the article uses a model of epidemic psychology developed by British medical sociologist Philip Strong at the turn of the 1990s. Based on the history of epidemics, he identified patterns of changes in society during outbreaks of previously unknown infectious diseases. In his opinion, at least three types of psycho-social epidemics are spreading in parallel with a disease, developing according to their own laws, and affecting both individuals and society as a whole. The first of these is an epidemic of fear, the second is an epidemic of explanation and moralization and the third isan epidemic of action or proposed action.They not only present a threat to public order but also can powerfully influence the size, timing, and shape of the social and political response in many other areas affected by the epidemic. The COVID-19 pandemic has revealed many vulnerabilities in people’s response to a sudden outbreak of a new disease, which poses a serious threat to security at both the national and global levels. Understanding the causes of such a response and identifying patterns of development of epidemics/pandemics play an important role in the fight against them. In this regard, the purpose of the article is to verify the relevance of Strong’s model for the analysis of the COVID-19 pandemic. This purpose dictatesthe structure of the study, which outlines the British scientist’s key concepts and applies his model to the situation with COVID-19 in general and in the field of politics. Since COVID-19 is the first pandemic in the era of social media, special attention is paid to the information epidemic (infodemic). The final part of the article highlights some of the effects of epidemic psychology in the context of humanity’s predicted entry into an “era of pandemics”. Promising directions for further research on the issue are outlined. 

Keywords: epidemic psychology, model, epidemic of fear, epidemic of explanation and moralization, epidemic of action, panic, moral entrepreneurs, stigmatization, COVID-19 pandemic