Speaker
Description
As it has been demonstrated by a number of academics, both the economic and political framework of the European Union and the effects of the 2008 economic crisis provided opportunities for European national minorities to voice their demands, build new alliances and mobilize local populations. More recently, the coronavirus pandemic thematized political communication and minority nationalist movements, such as the Catalan and the Scottish, also incorporated the fight against COVID-19 in their political discourses. The aim of this presentation is to asses to what extent has the pandemic served as a new platform for nationalist movements to highlight deficiencies of state administrations, build their own public support base and legitimize their secessionist goals. Catalonia and Scotland both provide examples of minority governments that played an active role in the fight against the pandemic which can be understood both in terms of concrete policies and as a communication strategy. This work will primarily focus on the latter, highlighting the effects of a global pandemic on local politics.
Keywords: Minority Nationalism; Coronavirus; Political Discourse; Catalonia; Scotland