From Uncertainty to Trust: COVID-19 Pandemic Responses of South Korea and Sweden

Abstract

Epidemiological situations, such as the pandemic of COVID-19, pose a clear and significant problem for the states in their efforts to construct and to control their population. The widespread introduction of a lockdown as a regulatory method during the current pandemic could be associated with the need to preserve an understandable, quantifiable, and predictable management object. This paper considers, analyses, and compares two deviant cases of COVID-19 pandemic responses: South Korea and Sweden. In South Korea, the pandemic regulations were dominated by large-scale testing and contact tracing, while lockdown policies have played a supplementary role. Sweden’s attempt to develop population immunity by introducing less stringent measures that its neighbours has attracted much attention worldwide. The authors conduct desk research and analyse secondary data on pandemic regulations and their effects in these two countries in 2020. Similarities and differences between Swedish and South Korean cases are formulated regarding trust inside and between the states.

Author Biographies

Andrey V. Rezaev, Saint Petersburg State University, Saint Petersburg, Russia

Andrey V. Rezaev, Doctor of Philosophy, Director of the USA-Russia Research Lab "TANDEM" at St. Petersburg State University. His research interests are oriented toward the exploration of AI technologies in a society's everyday life and human-machine interaction, comparative social analytics, and interdisciplinarity. Prof. Rezaev's most recent publications include the following: "Twelve Theses on Artificial Intelligence and Artificial Sociality" (2021); "Sociology in the age of artificial sociality: search of the new bases" (co-authors: V.S. Starikov, N.D. Tregubova, 2020); "Artificial Intelligence and Artificial Sociality: New Phenomena and Problems for Medical and Life Sciences Advance" (co-author: N.D. Tregubova, 2019).

Natalia D. Tregubova, Saint Petersburg State University, Saint Petersburg, Russia

Natalia D. Tregubova is an Assistant Professor at the Chair of Comparative Sociology, Faculty of Sociology, St. Petersburg State University, Russia. Her research interests cover primarily the theories of human interaction, artificial sociality, comparative historical sociology, and sociology of everyday life. Her most recent publications include "Artificial Intelligence and Artificial Sociality: New Phenomena and Challenges for the Social Sciences" (co-author: A.V. Rezaev, 2021); "Beyond Nations and Nationalities: Discussing the Variety of Migrants' Identifications in Russian Social Media" (co-author: M.L. Nee, 2020); "Division of Labor, Cooperation, and New Types of Expertise in the Age of Artificial Sociality: The Case of IT-companies in Russia and Belarus" (2020).

Anastasia A. Ivanova, Saint Petersburg State University, Saint Petersburg, Russia

Anastasia A. Ivanova (MA in Sociology) is a PhD student (Sociology) at St. Petersburg State University, Russia. Her research interests embrace artificial sociality in medicine, artificial expertise, social science online, and contemporary social theory. Among her recent publications are "Human-Algorithm-Human Relationship as a Social Problem and a Sociological Problem" (2021); "Transnationalism Online: Exploring Migration Processes with Large Data Sets" (co-authors: V. S. Starikov and M. L. Nee, 2018).

References

Published
2022-04-11
How to Cite
Rezaev, A., Tregubova, N., & Ivanova, A. (2022). From Uncertainty to Trust: COVID-19 Pandemic Responses of South Korea and Sweden. Changing Societies & Personalities, 6(1), 79–97. doi:10.15826/csp.2022.6.1.164
Section
Articles