Lecture 12

Question 1

Artikel Populism in Online Election Coverage: Analyzing populist statements by politicians,

journalists, and readers in three countries.

Answer 1

Ø Article investigates the extent to which populist key messages are distributed via online news articles and reader comments, as well as how media actors, political actors, and readers employ populist online communication during election periods RQ: How do the online news media moderate populist messages by political speakers?

Question 2

Populism

Answer 2

= thin ideology, and 4 dimensions of populist communication are distinguished:

1. People-centrim
2. Anti-elitism
3. Popular sovereignty
4. Exclusion

Question 3

1.People-centrism:

Answer 3

A populist actor can demonstrate his closeness to the people, stress their virtues, praise their achievements, or describe them as a monolithic group.

Question 4

2. Anti-elitism:

Answer 4

Populist actors discredit or blame the elite and detach the elite from the people

Question 5

3. Popular sovereignty:

Answer 5

On the one hand, populist actors may demand the people’s sovereignty. On the other hand, populist actors can also establish a negative and conflictive approach by denying the sovereignty of the elite.

Question 6

4. Exclusion:

Answer 6

Just as they blame the elite, populist actors may discredit or blame specific social groups or exclude them from the people

Question 7

Core of populism:

Answer 7

differentiation between two groups: the first is the “corrupt elite,” who are out of touch with the second group, “the pure people

Populists may exclude specific segments of the population from the group of “true people” and see them as a threat or a burden to society

Groups who do not share the people’s “good” characteristics, values, or opinions are perceived as out-groups or as “dangerous ‘others’”

Question 8

Perspectives on Populism and the Media

Answer 8

Populism by the media: refers to media organizations actively engaging in their own kind of populism

Populism through the media: focused on the dissemination and strengthening of populist messages by politicians and other actors

Populist citizen journalism: occurs when media organizations open the gates to populist messages by audience members—usually in the form of reader comments on their websites

Question 9

Online News Media as Platforms for Populist Communication

Answer 9

Online media provide political as well as media actors with more direct connections to the people, which is consistent with populists’ claims to represent, advocate, and speak on behalf of the people

The attention economy of the internet: there is compatibility between media logic and populist communication logic

Commercialized media

Question 10

3 aspects of media logic that are especially favorable to the dissemination of populism:

Answer 10

A conflict framing,

B strategic framing, and

c personalization.

Question 11

Findings & conclusion:

Answer 11

Comment sections are more populist than online news articles

The majority of populist key messages in online news articles originate from politicians, not from journalists

Opinion-oriented stories are more prone to conveying populist key messages from media actors, whereas straight news favours populism by political actors.

Question 12

Populism is a attack of the rule of law

Answer 12

Many think ‘rechtsstaat’ (rule of law) does not protect them

Political mobilisation of discontent

Populist mobilisation: less educated, the blue-collar workers, the unemployed, the politically dissatisfied, and those with negative attitudes toward immigrant.

Question 13

Populist as de- mobilisers

Answer 13

Negative tone triggers distrust toward politics, parties, politicians and democracy. This discourages (young) voters.

Question 14

Mudde:

Answer 14

populism is a symptom of a democratic deficit, not the cause:

Key problem: many people still support central idea of liberal democracy, but no longer support/ trust established liberal democratic parties and politicians.

Question 15

Minimal definition populism:

Answer 15

populism as a thin-centred ideology that considers society to be ultimately separated in two homogeneous and antagonists groups, the pure people, vs the corrupt elite, and which argues that politics should be an expression of the volontee generale (general will) of the people.

Question 16

Artikel populism versus democracy (Abts, Rummens

Answer 16

core aspects:

The leader

The elite/ establishment

The people

The outsider

Question 17

2 homologies:

Answer 17

2 homogenous groups (morele categorien): elite vs the people Effect: 4 antagonisms:

1. Anti-elite mobilisation
2. Betrayal of the people
3. Outgroup derogation
4. The people versus the other (outsider)

Question 18

1. Homogeneous people

Answer 18

The way in which populist actors define who belongs to the people versus the elite

Charismatic leader: not rule of law, but rule of man:

è Singular, personal authority

Singular leader with unique capacity to understand and represent the homogeneous people

Populists claim to personally embody the direct expression of the popular will, thereby negating societal and political plurality of interests.

Populists reject representative democracy and its intermediary institutions (trade unions and interest groups) and detest mechanisms for interest mediation, negotiation consensus-building and compromise, expert advice, legal and bureaucratic procedures and the traditional press. They all distort and obstruct the true, direct and uncorrupted expression of the will of the people by the leader.

Question 19

Two opposites of populism:

Answer 19

Pluralism

Pluralism assumes that societies are composed of several social groups with different ideas and interests. For this reason, pluralists favor the proliferation of many centers of powers and maintain that politics should reflect the preferences of as many groups as possible through compromise and consensus.

Elitism

Elitists believe that the people are dishonest and vulgar, while the elite are superior in cultural, intellectual and moral items. (…) Democracy easily degenerates into rule by the mob…

Question 20

2. Traditional elite defends the rule of law and minority rights: anti- elite mobilisation

Answer 20

For populists, traditional elites protect ‘outsiders’ (minorities) at the expense of the native, majority population by emphasising constitutional guarantees of equality before the law, universal rights and freedoms and due process.

This ideology of equality undermines the safety, well-being and perhaps even survival of the real people as they insufficiently protect the majority homogeneous people against underserving and predatory outsiders or intruders.

Like the people, also outsiders and the elite are all represented as homogeneous group.

This “rule of man” instead of the rule of law creates a conflict between legitimacy (the claim of populists to represent the people) and legality (the claim of the elites that populists violate constitutional and other legal norms and rules).

The ‘dark side’ of the notion of the people

Popular sovereignty vs. liberal constitutionalism

Antagonisms: people and populist leader vs. elite

Mudde: “All manifestations of populism are based on the moral distinction between ‘the pure people’and ‘the corrupt elite’.

Question 21

Anti-establishment

Answer 21

Anti-establishment sentiments and opinions are core element of populism and extremism

Typically, high levels of confidence in one’s own understanding of political issues (e.g.

belief superiority)

BUT: illusion of explanatory depth, particularly high among extremists

Kruger-Dunning effect: practically people who are incompetent overestimated their own ability, because they are insufficiently competent to realize their incompetence.

Question 22

Populist versus elite

Answer 22

Populism in its core an anti-establishment movement: a rejection of the entire economic establishment, cultural elite, academia and ‘political class’.

For populists, the entire establishment is recruited through the same corrupt mechanisms and they are all part of one corrupt system that betrays the will of the people.

Question 23

3. Betrayal of the people

Answer 23

False attempts at division of the homogeneous people

For populist, the entire elite is corrupt elite. There is no difference between government and opposition, between bankers, entrepreneurs, academics and journalists.

The entire ‘ruling class’ works in unison against ‘the people’

Populists do not attack the political establishment based on policy disagreement, but on their morality. Populism is a moral (not ideological) conceptualization of politics. - For populists there is only one correct interpretation and use power: that is when political power (and resources) are used in the interest of the homogenous, native people. - Denial of political and social pluralism: populists accuse the elite of ‘creating’ societal discord and cleavages that do not really exist, merely to keep their job and to keep the party cartel running.

The establishment representatives do not represent the people, but only themselves. The populist is the only political actor that can protect the people against this elite conspiracy.

Representative democracy itself is corrupted,as it allowes the ruling class to betray the people by hijacking democratic institutions and procedures to enrich and empower themselves.

-> Simple solutions for complex societal problems?

Question 24

4. The people vs the other (outsider)

Answer 24

The other/ outsider/ enemy of the people

Adversarial relationship between homogeneous (native) people and (ethically and religiously different) newcomers/immigrants

Strangers are ‘outsiders’ and their ‘otherness’ justifies exclusion from the majority population

Otherness and cultural distance mostly results from religious or ethnic characteristics of immigrants groups that have been part of society for a shorter period and have roots in other countries

Favouritism of own group VS out-group derogation

Othering = creating cultural distance between groups

Question 25

5. Outgroup derogation

Answer 25

Hostility of populists towards out-group (ethnic-religious minorities, immigrants) that are contrasted to the native, majority population

Favouritism of own group vs out-group derogation

Refugees and immigrants are ‘outgroup’ to populists

Question 26

Rejection of European integration

Answer 26

Countries joined EU to benefit from regional (economic and political integration) widening of EU

However, Europe also presents a serious challenge for democracy

Pooling of sovereignty at the supranational lever: reforms of EU Treaties transferred decision-making authority in a broad range of questions to Brussels: deepening Democratic deficit: weak role of citizens in EU decision-making and de-coupling of policy making and democratic control and accountability: policy is made at EU level by politicians elected at the national level, with. National parliaments role reduced in influencing policies and holding (prime) ministers accountable for results of summits and negotiations.

Question 27

No Demos

Answer 27

Lack of common identity and political culture: no ‘nation’ and no European ‘public sphere’ - Success of European integration depends on outputs, public goods and policies: peace, stability, economic growth, removal of barriers to trade, a counterweight to globalisation and excesses of capitalism, or more detailed laws affecting specific policy sectors of occupational groups.

Strengthening supra-national democracy will not necessarily lead to more active participation as EU only decides on issues of secondary importance to citizens.

Question 28

Artikel Krouwel Different types of Eurosceptic voters

Answer 28

1. Anti-market Eurosceptics
   Traditional and radical left
   In favour of socio-economic redistribution
   Against austerity and EU limiting national budget deficits
   Another Europe is possible
2. Pro-sovereignty Euroscepticis
   ‘Squeezed middle’: (lower) middle class voters
   Economic nationalists and nativists
   Pro-business economic orientation
   > Anti-EU sentiment form the ‘squeezed middle’
   > Eurosceptics concerned that deepening integration undermines national democracy
3. Anti-immigration Eurosceptics
   Mostly lower educated, lower political interest and political knowledge
   Against the EU as a whole, but their discontent is mainly fueled by anxiety over immigration
   Angry towards political and economic
   Economic ineqality
   Economic fear/ anxiety

Question 29

Artikel - Prooijen, J.-W. van, & Krouwel, A. P. M. (2019). Overclaiming Knowledge Predicts

Anti-establishment Voting

Answer 29

Nostalgic-nationalism

Populist support is primarily a social psychological mechanism: a nostalgic reaction among older generations seeking a bulwark against long-term processes of value change that transformed Western cultures during the late twentieth century.

Populism support will be especially strong among those holding traditional values and retro norms, including older generation and the less-educated groups left behind by progressive cultural tides.

Materialism versus post-materialis

Cosmopolitan versus nativism

Progressivism versus traditionalism

Permissiveness versus authoritarianism

Question 30

Immigration

Answer 30

Antagonism between winners and losers of globalization as a conflict between integration and demarcation.

Question 31

Globalisation makes national borders more salient

Answer 31

Losers of globalisation will seek economic and cultural protectionist measures

(through emphasis on the maintenance of national boundaries and independence)

Winners benefiting from increased competition, will support opening of national boundaries and international integration.

Antagonism between winners and losers of globalisation = a conflict between integration and demarcation.

Question 32

Out-group derogation exclusive to the political right?

Answer 32

The political left and right are both prejudiced, just about different types of social categories: - Typical right-wing prejudice against: Muslims, immigrants, homosexuals, gypsies, unemployed, ‘bureaucrats’, ‘intellectuals’, environmentalists….

Typical left-wing prejudice against: Christians, bankers, business people, hunters, military/police.

Question 33

Are extremists more likely to derogate societal groups than moderates?

Answer 33

Does the following group on average make a positive or negative contribution to Dutch society (dichotomous)

12 categories: artists, dolsiers, politicans etc.

Question 34

Factors that influence political attitudes (including voting)

Answer 34

1. Social class
2. Education
   Education, class and Brexit
   Of all those who voted for leave
   59% were middle class
   24% lowest two social classes
   Leave voters among the middle class were crucial to the final result because the middle class constituted two thirds of all those who voted
3. Age
   Age is the new key predictor of voting intention in British politics
   Populist ‘logic’ is polarizing
   Anti-establishment
   Anti-experts/intellectualism
   Pro ‘common sense’
   Simple (and immediate) solutions
   Out-group derogation
   Populism: Economic, cultural or emotional?
   Emotions and moods matter even more

Question 35

Emotions and moods matter even more

Answer 35

People who vote for populism feel left out of society (lost status) è Feeling is also find in the upper class, not only the lower class -> To get back control: vote for populists

-> Sentiments and the emotions are enough to vote for