Covid-19 Responses of Local Communities Around the World: Exploring Trust in the Context of Risk and Fear

Presenting a wide range of international case studies, the contributors to this book study the impact of Covid-19 on the risks faced by communities around the globe.

Examining cases from the Americas, Europe and Asia - including Mexico, Brazil, China, India, France, and Belgium - Kuah, Guiheux, Lim and their collaborators look at how communities have coped with the social and economic impacts of the pandemic, as well as the public health concerns. Using a framework of risks, fear, and trust, they evaluate how the global health crisis has both revealed and exacerbated a deep crisis of confidence in institutions and systems around the world. In reaction to this they also look at how individuals, social groups and communities have faced fears and built trust at a more local level. The units of spatial analysis in these cases include urban cities, neighbourhoods, slum settlements, migrant camps, schools, markets and homes, for a broad spectrum of case types and rich empirical data.

Essential reading for social scientists including sociologists, anthropologists and scholars of other disciplines looking to understand the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic internationally and on a multi-scalar level.

Khun Eng Kuah is Distinguished Professor in the School of International Studies at Jinan University, Guangzhou, China.

Gilles Guiheux is Professor of Sociology of China at the Centre d’Etudes en Sciences Sociales sur les Mondes Africains, Americains et Asiatiques, Université Paris Cité, France.

Francis K. G. Lim is Associate Professor of Sociology at Nanyang Technological University, Singapore.