Covid-19 Vaccine Hesitancy and National Security –: A Serbian Case Study

In: Politička misao: croatian political science review = Political thought, Volume 60, Issue 2, p. 122-148

Abstract

Drawing on the research findings of the survey and a review of the scientific‎ and professional literature, this paper seeks to indicate a correlation between ‎vaccine hesitancy and national security. On the one hand, the paper argues that ‎health is of particular concern to the modern sovereign state and its security,‎ and that the vaccine as a civilizational achievement is one of the most vital‎ mechanisms for safeguarding public health and, by extension, national security.‎ On the other hand, the paper contends that vaccine hesitancy should also‎ be considered a threat to national security. What vaccine hesitancy means and ‎what factors contribute to it is something of a blind spot in Serbia's public and‎ academic discourse. The survey findings have shown that vaccine hesitancy ‎is influenced by various factors and conclude that Covid-19 vaccine hesitancy ‎in Serbia can be considered a threat to national security.‎