Abstract
In this paper, we analyse the conditions under which the COVID‐19
pandemic will lead either to social order (adherence to measures put in
place by authorities to control the pandemic) or to social disorder
(resistance to such measures and the emergence of open conflict). Using
examples from different countries (principally the United Kingdom, the
United States, and France), we first isolate three factors which
determine whether people accept or reject control measures. These are
the historical context of state‐public relations, the nature of
leadership during the pandemic and procedural justice in the development
and operation of these measures. Second, we analyse the way the crisis
is policed and how forms of policing determine whether dissent will
escalate into open conflict. We conclude by considering the prospects
for order/disorder as the pandemic unfolds.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 694-702 |
| Journal | British Journal of Social Psychology |
| Volume | 59 |
| Issue number | 3 |
| Early online date | 1 Jul 2020 |
| DOIs | |
| Publication status | Published - Jul 2020 |
Keywords
- COVID-19
- Social order
- Social disorder
- Shared social identity
- Leadership
- Procedural justice
- Policing
Access to Document
- Reicher-2020-On-order-and-disorder-BJSP-694-CC
Copyright © 2020 The Authors. British Journal of Social Psychology published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd on behalf of British Psychological Society. This is an open access article under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits use, distribution and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.