Securitization of the covid-19 pandemic: Comparative cases of Hungary and the EU

Abstract

World history witnessed several diseases and pandemics which heavily impacted the socio-economic conditions and economic and political structure. The last pandemic was the Covid-19 pandemic which broke out in Wuhan, China, in December 2019. The rapid spread of the pandemic across the continents caused state leaders, ministers, and international organizations to describe the pandemic as a security threat and to adopt measures to slow the pace of this pandemic down. This study focuses on the pandemic management in Hungary and the European Union. It aims to answer whether Hungary, the least democratic state in the EU, differentiated from the EU in the face of the Covid19 policy in the first phase of the pandemic (March-June 2020). For this analysis, the securitization theory developed by Copenhagen School was employed. The primary components of this theory were investigated in the statements delivered by the securitizing actors. The analysis revealed that the pandemic was securitized in both cases and framed as a threat to human health and the economy, and similar emergency measures were adopted. However, Hungary moved in the direction of authoritarianism, and the securitizing statements were repleted with military terms, while the EU securitized the pandemic more liberally and democratically.