Paper short abstract:

The COVID-19 pandemic brought into media’s attention populist alliances opposing social distancing and other biopolitics imposed by governments. Parties like AfD in Germany or AUR in Romania are the main actors behind protests and online reactions against measures meant to stop the pandemic.

Paper long abstract:

Seen as alternative political movements for most Eurosceptics, parties with nationalist agendas have been growing in popularity in many European countries in the past years. During the coronavirus pandemic, they became more visible in social media, promoting their values and acquiring more sympathizers. Furthermore, with the help of protests and popular movements held in the offline world, while the vast majority of European citizens were trying to take reasonable measures to stop the virus, parties like AfD in Germany or AUR in Romania raised their popularity. Virtues like nationalism, the appetence for a traditional family or a deliberate option opposing immigrants, bring together groups which belong to a variety of social backgrounds.

With an agenda that concentrates on the image of self in contrast with the greater transnational organizations, like the European Union or the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, AfD or AUR marched on the idea of an authority-built pandemic which limits the individuality of people. Thus, measures imposed by governments in most European countries have been seen as threats meant to set up docile bodies, conformable to the biopower even after the pandemic is over. Within months, people adhering to these political alliances became vocal promoters of combatant attitudes against any biopolitics instituted by governments, both in the online and offline worlds.

This paper aims to analyse the course of AfD and AUR sympathizers’ actions during various stages of the COVID-19 pandemic, focusing on discourses and protests held by them with the ultimate purpose of opposing the authority.