The aim of this chapter is to provide an interpretative framework for scapegoating anti-Roma rhetoric and over-policing throughout Europe, targeting a minority group which is already disproportionally affected by virus. The case study is situated in the context of the American ‘Black Lives Matter’ movement, as well as current debates on conceptualising and operationalising race and ethnicity, ethno-racial disparities in the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic as well as various forms of penal populism and nationalism, and shows that the virus exacerbates social inequalities. The chapter begins with outlining the social science context of the inquiry. The points of reference include conceptualising and operationalising race, ethnicity and membership in national groups/communities, in particular in the field of medicine; the discursive and institutional framework of populism, in particular penal populism and penal nationalism; and mapping out four distinct ways in how the virus may affect certain groups incommensurately and lead to systemic and institutional discrimination. This is followed by an overview of the status of Roma in Europe. The subsequent section provides a case study of Hungary for conceptualising the Roma at the intersection of a racial, cultural or socio-economic minority, as well as an overview of populist policing strategies. The final section shows how Roma have been targeted by populist political rhetoric and securitising law enforcement in lieu of the pandemic.

The Social Science Context

The social science context of anti-Roma rhetoric and over-policing members of the Roma community throughout Europe (and Central-Eastern Europe in particular) is manifold. The first section is aimed at dissecting and providing an overview.

Black Lives Matter vs. Roma Lives Matter

There is a significant interest in analysing the recent uprise of the Black Lives Matter movement in lieu of the COVID-19 crisis (McCrudden, 2020), highlighting how institutional discrimination within and beyond law enforcement disproportionately burdens African Americans and augments the impact of the pandemic. Patterns of social marginalisation and institutional discrimination in the criminal justice system and in particular within the operation of the law enforcement machinery are parallel in lieu of the African American and the European Roma community. However, unlike in the case of African Americans, as the fifth section will show, the spread of the COVID-19 virus brought a surge in targeted anti-Roma rhetoric and scapegoating, often coupled with disproportionate law enforcement action enforcing social distancing and lockdown measures.