NAVIGATING DEMOCRACY IN A PANDEMIC: THE IMPACT OF COVID-19 ON PUBLIC DEBATE AND DEMOCRATIC PROCESSES

Maja Pucelj; Angelo Viglianisi Ferraro; Anthony Hunt

doi:10.14210/nej.v29n3.p866-899

Autores/as

Maja Pucelj Faculty of Organisation Studies in Novo Mesto https://orcid.org/0009-0001-9063-9080
Angelo Viglianisi Ferraro Mediterranea University of Reggio Calbria https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6480-3684
Anthony Hunt The University of Texas at Austin https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2513-143X

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.14210/nej.v29n3.p866-899

Palabras clave:

COVID-19, Debate Público, Desinformación, Noticias falsas, Confianza Pública en las Instituciones

Resumen

Contextualización: Este estudio examina el impacto de la pandemia de COVID-19 en el discurso democrático en nueve países europeos: Bulgaria, Chipre, Francia, Italia, Grecia, Portugal, Eslovenia, Suecia y España. La investigación se centra en desafíos clave, como la toma de decisiones gubernamentales, la transparencia, la confianza en las instituciones, el escrutinio del proceso electoral y la influencia de los medios de comunicación y las protestas sociales en la formación del debate público. El estudio es parte del proyecto EU CERV HEARD.

Objetivos: El objetivo principal es investigar cómo la pandemia afectó el discurso democrático, con un enfoque en las perspectivas de ciudadanos europeos subrepresentados. El estudio también explora la relación entre las crisis sanitarias y las desigualdades sociales, destacando la importancia de medidas legales que protejan el compromiso democrático durante las crisis.

Metodología: Se utilizó el Análisis Temático Reflexivo (ATR) para analizar datos cualitativos de debates en paneles realizados en nueve países entre abril y junio de 2023. Un total de 313 participantes contribuyeron, y las discusiones fueron transcritas y codificadas sistemáticamente para identificar los temas clave relacionados con el impacto de la pandemia en los procesos democráticos.

Resultados: Los resultados indican que la pandemia afectó negativamente a la democracia, con informes de explotación del poder por parte de políticos nacionales y un aumento de la desinformación. El estudio también destaca cómo la pandemia agravó las desigualdades sociales, especialmente en la participación democrática. Sin embargo, las conclusiones están limitadas por la falta de diversidad entre los participantes, y se recomienda que futuras investigaciones incluyan una muestra más amplia y evalúen los efectos a largo plazo de la pandemia en la democracia.

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Biografía del autor/a

Maja Pucelj, Faculty of Organisation Studies in Novo Mesto

Graduated from the Faculty of Public Administration in Ljubljana and the Faculty of Management in Koper, and received her master's degree from the New University Faculty of government and European Studies and the European Faculty of Law. She completed her first doctorate at Alma Mater Europaea - ISH in the field of humanities, and completed her second doctorate by New University Faculty of government and European Studies in the field of international studies with an emphasis on human rights. She started her career as a policewoman, where she also participated in a special police unit, she continued her career as a risk manager, head of legal services in the field of leasing and banking, as a director of marketing and auditor in an audit company. Before joining EMUNI and FOŠ, she worked as an advisor to the Minister of Education, Science and Sport in the fields of pre-school education, primary education, secondary and higher education, adult education and the quality of education and as an undersecretary in the Cohesion Policy department at the Ministry of Education, Science and Sports. She is an author of numerous works in the field of integration of Muslims into Western countries, Islamophobia and questioning the meaningfulness of the ban on covering the face in the context of the human rights of Muslim women.

Angelo Viglianisi Ferraro, Mediterranea University of Reggio Calbria

Aggregate Professor and the Erasmus Coordinator, Department of Law, Economics and Human Science, Mediterranea University of Reggio Calbria.

Anthony Hunt, The University of Texas at Austin

Human Resources Director with an extensive educational and professional background. He holds a Ph.D. in Human Resources Development from Texas A&M University, a Master’s in Business Administration from Oklahoma State University, a Master’s in Human Resources and a Master’s of International Relations, both from the University of Oklahoma, and a Bachelor of Business Administration from the University of Central Oklahoma.

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