Capitalizing on a Global Health Crisis - A study of China and COVID-19
Author
Bak, Nikoline
Term
4. term
Publication year
2021
Pages
55
Abstract
Denne afhandling undersøger, hvorfor Kinas krisehåndtering under COVID-19 lagde grundlaget for landets evne til at kapitalisere på den globale sundhedskrise. Studiet anlægger et todelt blik (internt og eksternt) og skelner mellem materielle og idébaserede gevinster. Med udgangspunkt i Københavnerskolens sikkerhedsliggørelsesteori analyseres, hvordan karakteristika ved Kinas centraliserede, autoritære system (top-down beslutningstagning, mobiliseringskapacitet, borgerskabets selvdisciplin og teknologi) muliggjorde hårde styringsinstrumenter og hurtig stabilisering, hvilket genstartede produktion og styrkede statens legitimitet. Med konstruktivisme som ramme undersøges dernæst, hvordan disse interne gevinster understøttede blød magt gennem sundhedsdiplomati i Serbien og Frankrig, herunder mask- og vaccinediplomati. Analysen finder divergerende modtagelser: bred opbakning og narrativ gevinst i Serbien, men skepsis og negative narrativer i Frankrig, selv om fransk import fra Kina steg. Samlet argumenterer afhandlingen for, at effektiv indenlandsk inddæmning skabte materielle (produktion/eksport) og idébaserede (legitimitet) fordele, som Kina udnyttede eksternt under pandemien.
This thesis examines why China’s COVID-19 crisis management laid the foundation for its ability to capitalize on the global health crisis. It takes an internal and external perspective and distinguishes between material and ideational gains. Using the Copenhagen School’s securitization theory, it analyzes how features of China’s centralized authoritarian system (top-down decision-making, mobilization capacity, civic self-restraint, and technology) enabled hard-power control measures and rapid stabilization, restarting production and bolstering state legitimacy. Drawing on constructivism, it then explores how these internal gains supported soft-power health diplomacy in Serbia and France, including mask and vaccine diplomacy. The analysis finds divergent receptions: broad endorsement and narrative gains in Serbia, but skepticism and negative narratives in France, even as French imports from China rose. Overall, the study argues that effective domestic containment produced material (production/export) and ideational (legitimacy) advantages that China leveraged externally during the pandemic.
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