COVID-19: A Concrete Example of the use of Disciplinary Power

Abstract

Based on Foucault's disciplination-right theory and against the background of COVID-19, this paper reveals how individual behavior is shaped by "soft" mechanisms such as institutions, space, time and discourse in modern society. This article analyzes how China's epidemic prevention and control measures, including nucleic acid testing, health code system, quarantine policy, mask regulations, and epidemic prevention publicity, reflect the actual operation of the disciplinary power in a public health crisis. This paper combines theoretical analysis with case studies, uses Foucault's disciplining power theory as the analytical framework, and compares Weber's bureaucratic model to explore the mechanism of different power forms in epidemic control. The study found that China's epidemic prevention policy shows a deep integration of disciplinary mechanisms and bureaucracy. On the premise of not relying on direct violence, the state can effectively regulate and guide citizens' behavior through daily management means, which reflects the permeability and recessive characteristics of power in modern governance.