The pandemic sovereign: how the war against the virus redefined sovereignty in Italy and Spain

This article investigates the redefinition of state sovereignty during the COVID-19 pandemic, focusing on Italy and Spain as illustrative cases of what we term ‘pandemic sovereignty’. Drawing from Critical Military Studies and Critical Security Studies, we argue that the state-security-society nexus was fundamentally reshaped during this health emergency, marked by three interrelated pillars: (1) legitimizing use of warfare metaphors; (2) the militarization of pandemic responses; (3) the responsibilisation of society and societalisation of security. These pillars collectively enabled the state to extend its sovereign authority, normalizing exceptional measures and incorporating military and civilian actors into the governing of the public health emergency. While these dynamics have been observed globally, the Italian and Spanish cases reveal distinctive patterns rooted in their legal, political, and societal contexts. Our analysis underscores how these processes, rather than collateral byproducts of neoliberal governance, are deeply embedded within and reinforced by its rationalities. By conceptualizing ‘pandemic sovereignty’ in this way, this study wants to put forward a novel lens to understanding neoliberal sovereignty’s governance of security crises.