‘NIHIL SINE DEO IN FAR-RIGHT PROTESTS' - RITUALS OF REBELLIONS AND COUNTER-HEGEMONIC NARRATIVES DURING ANTI-CORONAVIRUS PROTESTS

This research investigates the discursive structure, symbolism, and iconography of the anti-Covid-19 protests from Romania. In 2020 – 2021, AUR, alongside other far-right movements like the New Right and Romanian Heart Union, participated in more than 30 anti-COVID-19 measures and vaccines protests. Using a wide array of national symbols and Orthodox iconography, AUR employed ritualistic ceremonies and espoused counter-hegemonic discourses that positioned the authorities' mandates in a sacred conflict against the nationalist idea of Romanianness. Methodologically, this study combines virtual ethnography and semiotic analysis for more than 30 protests collected from social media, YouTube, and media. The results of the virtual ethnography and semiotic analysis reveal that the symbols and iconography employed by AUR during protest expressed new rituals of rebellion against the authorities’ decisions to restrict the movement of the people. Likewise, the on-the-ground discourse of AUR conveyed new counter-hegemonic attitudes towards the neo-liberal ideal of the EU. Moreover, the analysis reveals that the mechanics used during demonstrations against the Government reveal striking thematic similarities with the January 6 Insurrection from the United States.