COVID-19: uncertainty in a mood of anxiety. (March 2023)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Rumelili, Bahar
• Is Part Of: International relations. Volume 37:Number 1(2023)
• Page Start: 149
• Page End: 155
• Publication Date: 2023-03
• Subjects: COVID-19 -- crisis -- emotions -- existentialism -- uncertainty; International relations -- Periodicals; World politics -- Periodicals; 303.482
• DOI: 10.1177/00471178221149636
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 0047-1178

Abstract

This contribution to the Forum, Anxiety and possibility: the many future(s) of COVID-19, develops a conception of uncertainty as constituted by cognitive (awareness of possibilities) and affective (mood in which possibility is encountered) dimensions. Based on this conception, it is suggested that the COVID-19 crisis has led to a qualitative leap in our already growing sense of uncertainty, both accentuating our awareness of possibilities that are unforeseen, and rendering us attuned to the world in anxiety rather than fear.