That other pandemic: COVID-19 as Bogeyman and the rise of urban dystopias

Abstract

This survey and analysis of accounts from different countries show how the initial global decline of Covid-19 has been shadowed by the prolongation of instrumental usages of the pandemic that threatens to impede, or even reverse the restoration of societal functioning. This is especially true in cities, where government action upon dense populations is more visible and likely to be felt by citizens. By comparing and categorizing such instrumentalization vis-à-vis theorizing on the way states (or state proxies) determine when ‘states of exception’ exist, this research demonstrates that the recruitment of Covid-19 as a bogeyman of sorts initiates slippage into dystopian urban conditions. The study also shows that such improvisations of public health crises can be located in politics-cum-media discourses, and that information and resource-access asymmetries, insufficient technical capacities and pre-existing vulnerabilities need to be addressed not only through medical intervention, but through clear-headed policies and proactive citizenship in order to dispel negative advantage-seeking behaviors in the face of a shifting pandemic scenario.

Keywords:

• Covid-19 pandemic
• dystopia
• instrumental use
• cities
• media
• state of exception
• communication

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Additional information

Notes on contributors

José Edgardo A. Gomez Jr.

Dr. José Edgardo Gomez Jr. is a tenured professor at the University of the Philippines’ School of Urban and Regional Planning. His research interests include streetscapes, urban culture, governance, and public works planning. Email: [email protected]; [email protected]