Changing scenes of security in the time of the coronavirus pandemic

In early 2020, as many parts of the world went into unprecedented lockdowns, senior EU officials stated that only a united approach would enable Europe to address a pandemic that was endangering the security of individuals and societies. In the words of the European Commission President, ‘in this crisis, and in our Union more generally, it is only by helping each other that we can help ourselves’ (Von der 2020). In this context, it is important to ask: how has the European (in)security environment evolved in the context of the COVID pandemic? This article addresses that question by drawing on insights from the field of Critical Security Studies (CSS) and post-colonial/postsocialist perspectives. Those insights help us understand how, contrary to statements of solidarity issued by senior EU politicians, the pandemic has accentuated structural inequalities and the condition of (in)security experienced by many vulnerable individuals across Europe. The focus in this article is on developments concerning Central Europe, in an attempt to advance understanding of the important – yet still under-studied – role played by post-socialist spaces in the redefinition of the (in)security environment in Europe and, more broadly, in the (re)construction of the EU (see also Mälksoo 2021; Lovec, Kočí, and Šabič et al. 2021). Understanding developments in postsocialist spaces enables us to shed light on similarities between the dehumanising practices enacted by Central European governments and by their West European counterparts, and deepens knowledge of the conflicts and contradictions that lie at the heart of European politics. Central to these contradictions is the growing clash between liberal/illiberal ideas and political forces that has profoundly affected EU politics in recent years, and that has become particularly acute in the context of the COVID pandemic.