Heroes, villains and naked nations: micro-solidarity and grounded nationalism in times of crisis

Figuratively speaking, the COVID-19 pandemic (2019–22) stripped nations naked, exposing the bare structure of how nationalism, as the driving force behind the nation-states, operates on the ground. Based on a survey conducted in April 2021 in five countries (Sweden, Serbia, Germany, Ireland and England), we thematically analyze two open-ended questions on who should be remembered as the heroes and villains of the pandemic, demonstrating that people’s perception of COVID-19 is shaped and reimagined through the category of their own nation-state. Two main arguments are put forward: (1) the vast majority of answers show that heroes and villains are found in small group encounters; (2) yet in-group micro-solidarity is referential to the existing organizational and ideological power of the nation-state. We utilize the notion of “naked nations” to show that, in times of crisis, people’s selfhood is profoundly grounded in micro-solidarity encounters that are tightly linked to nation-states.