Pandemic, populism, and polarisation.

Abstract

The chapter focuses on how the COVID-19 pandemic has exacerbated the problem of misinformation in contemporary democracy. As a consequence of the pandemic, the political context has suffered an earthquake that, moving between paralysis and emergency, has brought to light some of the substantive debates about the role of democracy today in Europe. As a consequence of the debate, there are three major fields in which populism has been able to advance during the pandemic: the efficacy vs. legitimacy debate, the freedom vs. security debate, and the debate between institutional guarantee and the need for responses. All these three elements affect key elements of democracy such as the separation of powers, respect for human rights, and the holding of fair and periodic elections, and disinformation has contributed to generating a climate in which the different political actors have been able to contribute to these threats to democracy.