Study of the crisis communication strategies used by European leaders during the COVID-19 pandemic

Details

Supervisors

De Cock, Sylvie

Faculty

Faculté de philosophie, arts et lettres

Degree label

Master [120] en communication multilingue, à finalité spécialisée: langues des affaires

Abstract

Description of the research question. The COVID-19 pandemic shook the world and generated unprecedented political, economic and social consequences: it pushed health systems to the edge of collapse, severely disrupted the ordinary course of our daily life and activities, caused thousands of deaths and plunged economies into deep recessions. After the initial shock, heads of state and government were forced to quickly develop effective crisis communication strategies to inform the population of the latest developments and communicate health measures and new restrictions. How did the political authorities set up their communication in the context of the pandemic and organise their political discourse? How have these strategies evolved over time? The aim of this dissertation is to study the crisis communication strategies put in place by two European leaders, Emmanuel Macron and Boris Johnson, at the beginning of the pandemic (March 2020 to December 2020). Method. This dissertation combines qualitative and quantitative approaches: a set of data was collected from several of Macron’s presidential speeches and Boris Johnson’s press conferences. These data were subsequently examined on the basis of an analytical grid developed from the literature review. Our analysis was complemented by a contextualisation of the two leaders’ communication practices and a broad overview of their management of the COVID-19 crisis.