CONFERENCEManifestations of Securitization Elements in Latvia’s Government Communication: Examples of COVID-19 and Russia’s Invasion of Ukraine
https://doi.org/10.22364/ms24.08 | pp. 81-89 | PDF
Anastasija Tetarenko-Supe
University of Latvia
https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8707-0092
Mārtiņš Pričins
University of Latvia https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1307-4810
Abstract. The third decade of the 21st century brings new challenges, where society navigates in the shadow of unknowns and threats. With the COVID-19 pandemic in Latvia in 2020 and Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine two years later, Latvia’s politicians and leadership have had to adopt a series of measures to normalise the situation, which inherently contradicted the established order and created constraints for people and the country’s economy. The necessity of imposing restrictions also requires an explanation of the need for such a step. This paper seeks to examine how Latvian political actors attempted to implement securitization processes during the COVID-19 pandemic as well as at the beginning of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine. By analysing the elements of the securitization process in the communication of political actors, it is concluded that the ambiguity and incoherence of the elements hindered the implementation of securitization process that should be accepted by the audience, which manifested itself both in the spread of the dramatic virus and in the inability to understand why Latvia had to give up the benefits and comforts of everyday life for another country. The research problem of the paper is related to the Latvian government’s need to reach and persuade the population about the changes related to two major events – the COVID-19 risks and restrictions, as well as the Russian invasion of Ukraine. The aim of the paper is to understand the creation dynamic of securitization move, first of all, during the COVID-19 pandemic, and to assess whether the first period of Russia’s full-scale invasion somehow follows up the established pattern.
Keywords: securitization, political communication, COVID-19, government communication
In: Media and Society, 2024. Proceedings of Scientific Papers = Mediji un sabiedrība, 2024. Rakstu krājums. Riga, University of Latvia, 2025. 137 p.