Abstract

This study focuses on understanding and explaining the technologies that affect the governance of the risk of Covid-19 in Turkey. To assess how this risk is governed by individuals, the study focuses on discussions around this disease within a Turkish Facebook group. The aim is to understand how individuals conduct themselves and establish norms of conduct against the risk of illness that, in this case of an infectious disease, involves governing the self while managing others. The results show that the discourse created around the governance of infection risk is very much in line with notions of neoliberal governmentality, individual responsibility, citizens as consumers, and individuals as entrepreneurs. Governing the risk of Covid-19 is related to prevalent ways of prioritising or recognising economic explanations, and cost calculation and assessment of successful governance using quantifiable variables, such as the number of new cases and deaths. Concepts like herd immunity and natural selection are open to discussion. Individuals who believe that the government is primarily responsible for risk governance assert that they are paying taxes and advocate that, disciplinary measures should be taken by the government, whereas the opposing view states that individuals are responsible for the governance of Covid-19 risk. We interpret both these opposing views as illustrating neoliberal governmentality and representing contractual and familial state–citizen relationships.

摘要

本研究的重点是了解和解释影响土耳其 Covid-19 风险治理的技术。为了评估这种风险是如何由个人控制的，该研究重点关注土耳其 Facebook 小组内围绕这种疾病的讨论。其目的是了解个人如何进行自我行为，并建立行为规范以应对疾病风险，在这种传染病的情况下，涉及在管理他人的同时管理自我。结果表明，围绕感染风险治理创建的话语非常符合新自由主义治理、个人责任、公民作为消费者和个人作为企业家的概念。管理 Covid-19 的风险与优先考虑或识别经济解释的流行方式有关，使用可量化变量（例如新病例数和死亡人数）计算和评估成功治理的成本。群体免疫和自然选择等概念可以讨论。认为政府主要负责风险治理的个人声称他们正在纳税并主张政府应采取纪律措施，而相反的观点则认为个人应对 Covid-19 风险的治理负责。我们将这两种相反的观点解释为说明新自由主义的治理性并代表契约和家庭的国家-公民关系。认为政府主要负责风险治理的个人声称他们正在纳税并主张政府应采取纪律措施，而相反的观点则认为个人应对 Covid-19 风险的治理负责。我们将这两种相反的观点解释为说明新自由主义的治理性并代表契约和家庭的国家-公民关系。认为政府主要负责风险治理的个人声称他们正在纳税并主张政府应采取纪律措施，而相反的观点则认为个人应对 Covid-19 风险的治理负责。我们将这两种相反的观点解释为说明新自由主义的治理性并代表契约和家庭的国家-公民关系。