FROM COLLECTIVE ACTION TO CIVIL DISORDER: A COMPARATIVE ANALYSIS OF PANDEMIC-RIDDEN CZECHIA AND SLOVAKIA

This paper aims to present how collective action has transformed into civil disorder against the pandemic policy in Czechia and Slovakia in 2020-2022. The research questions are as follows: 1) What factors decided the transformation of collective action into civil disorder? 2) What were the essential features of civil disorder in each state? The study draws on process tracing, qualitative analysis of sources, and qualitative comparative analysis. The research tool is fs/QCA software. The starting point is March 2020 when a state of emergency was declared in both states. The final point is March 2022 when most of the restrictions were canceled, the unofficial end of the pandemic. Cases selected include public gatherings in protest of the pandemic policy organized at that time in the cities of Prague, Brno, Ostrava (Czech Republic), and Bratislava and Košice (Slovakia). The cities have populations above 200 thousand and all of them are agglomerations that attract major socio-political events. Despite the initial success in dealing with the pandemic, the paper explains why collective actions to protect public health changed over time into civil disorder designed to undermine the pandemic policy. Therefore, the article provides evidence of the role antidemocratic played in inciting civil disorder.