Argumentum ad solidaritatem: Rhetorical Leadership Strategies in Scandinavia During COVID-19

What is it about?

This chapter examines how Scandinavian leaders motivated and justified the measures enacted in the first phase of COVID-19. Leaders in all three countries couched their argumentation in appeals to solidarity, a form of argument so distinct that we dub it the argumentum ad solidaritatem. Yet the use of this appeal varied somewhat between the otherwise similar Scandinavian countries. Specifically, Sweden stood out from Denmark and Norway in leaving most of the communication to its Public Health Agency rather than to its political leaders, manifesting in a more technical (i.e. expert medical) form of rhetoric. We argue that this reflects a tradition in Sweden for a social division of administrative labour that is distinct from the practice in Denmark and Norway. To the extent that this tradition is part of Sweden’s political culture, Sweden’s leadership displayed exactly the same rhetorical approach as its counterparts in the other Scandinavian countries: They attuned successfully with the rhetorical ‘constraints’ of the situation within their country, and largely retained the trust and confidence of their population. Yet the fact that COVID-19 affected these countries very differently forces us to recognise the difference between rhetorical and general success in responding to a pandemic.

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Photo by Jr Korpa on Unsplash

Photo by Jr Korpa on Unsplash