Who are the vulnerable? The social construction of vulnerability during the COVID-19 outbreak in Norway

The paper looks at the social construction of vulnerability in Norway during the COVID-19 outbreak and aims to shed light on how the discourse of vulnerability is shaped and used during an ongoing crisis. As a response to the rapidly intensifying COVID-19 outbreak, Norway has seen the first activation of the emergency powers mandated to the health authorities, which led to a lock down in March 2020. In practice, this involved a complete restructuring of Norwegian day-to-day society, including the closing of schools, universities and kindergartens, rapid decreases in commercial and industrial activity, mobilization of the Norwegian National Guard, and a near-complete halt in entertainment and leisure activities. On the individual level, inhabitants were encouraged to maintain a high degree of self-isolation, as a way of minimizing social contact. The societal pressures exercised on all citizens’ lives were in the Norwegian public discourse described as voluntary work for the public good in the Norwegian word “dugnad”. The dugnad in Norway is, as public policy and official statements, normatively framed as all citizens are asked to “take one for the team” to protect the most vulnerable individuals during the COVID-19 outbreak. This paper combines insights from the BuildERS H2020 projects theoretical work on vulnerability and resilience, with recent observations of community response in Norway. The data foundation is composed of online unstructured conversations with citizens in quarantine, health care workers, and people in home offices in combination with media coverage, and statements from municipalities and health services. As the country went into a hibernation period, rich narratives of vulnerability, resilience, and the expenditure of and conversion of social capital were played out in the public and private spheres.