Disciplinary Normalisation and the Biopolitics of COVID-19 Pandemic Discourse in Ghana

Abstract

Constructing normalised sociopolitical order during the COVID-19 pandemic appeared a common feature of countries across the globe, constituting identities and engendering political struggles. This study analyses the concrete discursive practices of the President of the Republic of Ghana during the pandemic. Foucault’s notions of discourse and power provide the framework for analysing the performances and realisations of disciplinary (power) normalisation and biopolitical practices during the pandemic. How do the discursive practices of the President of the republic of Ghana construct new normalcy, a normalised sociopolitical order, and managed the virus spread during the COVID-19 pandemic? The study revealed the deployment of disciplinary normalisation and the biopolitical constitution of subjects. It found out that there is a discursive link between the discursive practices of the President of Ghana and the pandemic discourse of the World Health Organisation (WHO) and funding support from the World Bank. The President’s discursive shift from disciplinary normalisation to self-discipline increased the chances of the ruling party towards winning the December 7, 2020, general election in Ghana. Also, this study provides a better understanding of the reconfiguration of the political and the similarities between Ghana’s pandemic discourse and some Global North countries.