DEBUNKING ‘THE GREAT EQUALISER’ DISCOURSE: MINORITY PERSPECTIVES FROM BULGARIA AND KOSOVO DURING THE FIRST SHOCKWAVE OF THE COVID-19 PANDEMIC

Abstract. During the first shockwave of the Covid-19 pandemic, the risk of infection was inaccurately touted as ‘the great equaliser’. However, the virus’ rapid spread and the state of emergency accelerated the magnitude of pre-existing inequalities by taking a heavy toll on already marginalised, exploited and extremely poor segments of societies. Focussing on sub-national contexts in Bulgaria and Kosovo, this article demonstrates how Bulgarian Roma and Kosovo Serbs were not only hit the hardest by the introduction of ad hoc lockdowns and curfews, respectively, but also how disciplinary mechanisms of control and surveillance were embedded in public methods and cultural policies of scapegoating and ascribing images of societal irresponsibility and backwardness upon these two minority groups. Keywords: Bulgaria; Kosovo; minority groups; pandemic; ad hoc restrictions; stigmatisation