Communication, politics and COVID-19 in Iceland : the small state dimension

Abstract

Authorities all over the world have faced enormous challenges in dealing with the COVID-19 pandemic, including how to circulate up-to-date and accurate information to the general public concerning the novel coronavirus. In light of this, there has been much focus on studying information dissemination regarding COVID-19. Most of the attention in this communication research has been on large states such as the United States and the United Kingdom but smaller states like Iceland have mostly been absent in these studies. The aim of this article is twofold. First, it adds the Icelandic case to the COVID-19 communication research literature by examining findings from two representative surveys that were conducted in Iceland in June and August 2020 concerning COVID-19 and information dissemination, and how these findings compare to similar studies from larger states. Second, building on limited existing academic work on political communication in small states, I explore how the dissemination of information concerning the COVID-19 pandemic might be, to some extent, different in Iceland than in larger states because of the size variable.