How Do Citizens Respond to Government Measures in Times of Crisis? Narrative Meaning-Making of Agency, Responsibility, and Compliance During the COVID-19 Pandemic in Ecuador
Ecuador ble spesielt hardt rammet av koronaviruset, og befolkningen hadde lav tillit til regjeringen. Hvorfor fulgte likevel mange i Ecuador regjeringens koronatiltak? I denne intervjustudien med Ecuadorianere fant forskeren at hvorvidt regjeringens tiltak ble sett på som beskyttende, for strenge eller urettferdige, kom an på hvordan deltakerne oppfattet pandemisituasjonen generelt i verden og konsekvensene de så at viruset og tiltakene hadde for medborgere, naboer, venner og familie. Meningsskapingen av disse ulike nivåene hadde konsekvenser for om tiltakene ble sett på som legitime, og om ansvaret for å håndtere situasjonen ble plassert på befolkningen eller på myndighetene.
Forfatter
Ella Marie Sandbakken
Tidskrift
European Journal of Social Psychology
Abstract
Citizens’ responses to policies depend on narrative meaning-making. Through the lens of the COVID-19 pandemic in Ecuador, this study addresses calls for increased insights into how processes of responding to government measures function during societal crises and ruptures. I propose multilevel narrative engagement as a conceptual tool for understanding how citizens navigate narratives from global, national, community, and interpersonal levels when responding to crisis policies. Through an empirical investigation, I find that Ecuadorian interview participants used a protection narrative, an informed choice narrative, and an injustice narrative when making meaning of the government's COVID-19 measures, depending on their multilevel narrative engagement. Through these narratives, the agency and responsibility of citizens and authorities to manage the crisis were interpreted differently, leading to distinct perceptions of non-compliance and the legitimacy of the measures. Insights from the study can inform future crisis management that depends on how citizens react to crisis mitigation measures.