Scientific Journal "Sociology: Theory, Methods, Marketing"
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COVID-19 as the new social reality
stmm. 2020(4): 5-22
DOI https://doi.org/10.15407/sociology2020.04.005
VIKTOR STEPANENKO, Doctor of Science in Sociology,
Chief Research Fellow at the Department of History and Theory of Sociology, Institute of Sociology, National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine, Editor-in-Chief of the journal “Sociology: theory, methods, marketing”
12, Shovkovychna St., Kyiv, 01021
vikstepa@gmail.com
https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3623-0057
In the paper some aspects of social problematic and consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic are considered under the angle of sociological approaches. In particular these are the issues of institutional capacity and efficiency of government in facing the pandemic, the problems of actualization of biopolitics and of social inequality, social psychological challenges of the pandemic. It is argued that the global consequences of the pandemic imply the shifts in the configurations of basic societal values and regulations such as freedom, responsibility, security, civility, equality, trust and solidarity. Administrative regulations, restrictions and lockdown during quarantine are not only measures that are justified by the protection of security and public health, but also certain tests by the governments of the thresholds for the perception of strict social control. Based on the analysis of the results of sociological research, in particular by the Institute of Sociology of the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine, the features of the coronavirus crisis in Ukraine are outlined. These features are due to the fact that in Ukraine universal social challenges of the pandemic are combined with the country’s multifactorial social transformation. Thus, the social consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic in Ukraine can manifest themselves in two ways: as a negative catalyst that exacerbates the problem of uncompleted social transformation or as a kind of "equalizer", that is the factor in which the values of security, social survival, tolerance and solidarity will become a priority.
Keywords: COVID-19 pandemic, social consequences, biopolitics, quarantine restrictions, coronavirus crisis, social transformation, Ukraine
References
Borodchuk, N., Cherenko, L. (2020). Fighting COVID-19 in Ukraine: initial estimates of the impact on poverty. [In Ukrainian]. Retrieved from: https://www.unicef.org/ukraine/media/5811/file/COVID%20impact%20on%20poverty%20ukr.pdf. [=Бородчук, Черенько 2020]
Etzioni, A. (2020). The Sociology of Surviving the Coronavirus. Retrieved from: https://nationalinterest.org/feature/sociology-sur...
How did the quarantine shake the nerves of Ukrainians? (2020). The results of the study by the Institute of Sociology of the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine. [In Ukrainian]. Retrieved from: https://i-soc.com.ua/ua/news/chi-silno-karantin-ro... [=Чи сильно2020]
Impact of the COVID-19 and quarantine restrictions on the economics of Ukraine (2020). The Centre of applied research. Konrad Adenauer Foundation in Ukraine. [In Ukrainian]. Retrieved from: https://www.kas.de/uk/web/ukraine/einzeltitel/-/content/vpliv-covid-19-ta-karantinnih-obmezen-na-ekonomiku-ukraini. [=Вплив COVID-19 2020]
Kenworthy, L. (2020). Social democratic capitalism. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
KIIS (2020). Assessment of government success and public response to the coronavirus epidemic and political events in Ukraine. [Press-release]. [In Ukrainian]. Retrieved from: http://www.kiis.com.ua/?lang=ukr&cat=reports&id=93... [=КМІС 2020]
Pappas, T. (2020) The politics of pandemic prevention in Spain and Greece. Retrieved from: https://pappaspopulism.com/coronavirus-spain-and-g...
Pepinsky, T. (2020). Political Economy and Democratic Capacity to Respond to Pandemics. Retrieved from: https://items.ssrc.org/covid-19-and-the-social-sci...
Sorokowska A., Sorokowski P., Hilpert P. et al. (2017). Preferred Interpersonal Distances: A Global Comparison. Journal of Cross-Cultural Psychology, 48(4), 577–592. doi:10.1177/0022022117698039
Received 24.11.2020
COVID-19 as the new social reality
stmm. 2020(4): 5-22
DOI https://doi.org/10.15407/sociology2020.04.005
VIKTOR STEPANENKO, Doctor of Science in Sociology,
Chief Research Fellow at the Department of History and Theory of Sociology, Institute of Sociology, National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine, Editor-in-Chief of the journal “Sociology: theory, methods, marketing”
12, Shovkovychna St., Kyiv, 01021
vikstepa@gmail.com
https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3623-0057
In the paper some aspects of social problematic and consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic are considered under the angle of sociological approaches. In particular these are the issues of institutional capacity and efficiency of government in facing the pandemic, the problems of actualization of biopolitics and of social inequality, social psychological challenges of the pandemic. It is argued that the global consequences of the pandemic imply the shifts in the configurations of basic societal values and regulations such as freedom, responsibility, security, civility, equality, trust and solidarity. Administrative regulations, restrictions and lockdown during quarantine are not only measures that are justified by the protection of security and public health, but also certain tests by the governments of the thresholds for the perception of strict social control. Based on the analysis of the results of sociological research, in particular by the Institute of Sociology of the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine, the features of the coronavirus crisis in Ukraine are outlined. These features are due to the fact that in Ukraine universal social challenges of the pandemic are combined with the country’s multifactorial social transformation. Thus, the social consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic in Ukraine can manifest themselves in two ways: as a negative catalyst that exacerbates the problem of uncompleted social transformation or as a kind of "equalizer", that is the factor in which the values of security, social survival, tolerance and solidarity will become a priority.
Keywords: COVID-19 pandemic, social consequences, biopolitics, quarantine restrictions, coronavirus crisis, social transformation, Ukraine
References
Borodchuk, N., Cherenko, L. (2020). Fighting COVID-19 in Ukraine: initial estimates of the impact on poverty. [In Ukrainian]. Retrieved from: https://www.unicef.org/ukraine/media/5811/file/COVID%20impact%20on%20poverty%20ukr.pdf. [=Бородчук, Черенько 2020]
Etzioni, A. (2020). The Sociology of Surviving the Coronavirus. Retrieved from: https://nationalinterest.org/feature/sociology-sur...
How did the quarantine shake the nerves of Ukrainians? (2020). The results of the study by the Institute of Sociology of the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine. [In Ukrainian]. Retrieved from: https://i-soc.com.ua/ua/news/chi-silno-karantin-ro... [=Чи сильно2020]
Impact of the COVID-19 and quarantine restrictions on the economics of Ukraine (2020). The Centre of applied research. Konrad Adenauer Foundation in Ukraine. [In Ukrainian]. Retrieved from: https://www.kas.de/uk/web/ukraine/einzeltitel/-/content/vpliv-covid-19-ta-karantinnih-obmezen-na-ekonomiku-ukraini. [=Вплив COVID-19 2020]
Kenworthy, L. (2020). Social democratic capitalism. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
KIIS (2020). Assessment of government success and public response to the coronavirus epidemic and political events in Ukraine. [Press-release]. [In Ukrainian]. Retrieved from: http://www.kiis.com.ua/?lang=ukr&cat=reports&id=93... [=КМІС 2020]
Pappas, T. (2020) The politics of pandemic prevention in Spain and Greece. Retrieved from: https://pappaspopulism.com/coronavirus-spain-and-g...
Pepinsky, T. (2020). Political Economy and Democratic Capacity to Respond to Pandemics. Retrieved from: https://items.ssrc.org/covid-19-and-the-social-sci...
Sorokowska A., Sorokowski P., Hilpert P. et al. (2017). Preferred Interpersonal Distances: A Global Comparison. Journal of Cross-Cultural Psychology, 48(4), 577–592. doi:10.1177/0022022117698039
Received 24.11.2020
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