Making or faking depolarization? The anti-populist parties’ construction of the populism/anti-populism divide on social media in the Czech Republic

Result code in IS VaVaI

<a href="https://www.isvavai.cz/riv?ss=detail&h=RIV%2F00216224%3A14230%2F24%3A00137614" target="_blank" >RIV/00216224:14230/24:00137614 - isvavai.cz</a>

Alternative codes found

RIV/00216224:14230/24:00137616

Result on the web

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DOI - Digital Object Identifier

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Result language

angličtina

Original language name

Making or faking depolarization? The anti-populist parties’ construction of the populism/anti-populism divide on social media in the Czech Republic

Original language description

Populism has gained significant attention recently, yet there is less understanding of strategies to confront it. This study focuses on the communication of these reactions by examining the populism/anti-populism divide created by populist parties' challengers. Anti-populists present themselves as an antithesis of populism, offering an alternative to populism by constructing two identities: populist identity ('them'), and anti-populist identity ('us'). While anti-populism is argued to be depolarizing, based on civility, calmness, and knowledge, populism is portrayed as polarizing, using emotional and irrational language. However, we know little about the content of these identities and how these identities are presented stylistically. This study examines the content of the populism/anti-populism divide in the messages of anti-populist actors and its association with specific communication style. Our study utilizes a quantitative content analysis of an original dataset of posts on Facebook and Instagram (n=1,291) before the 2021 elections in Czechia, along with an automated frequency analysis of anti-populists' posts (n=44,877) from September 2017 to December 2021. Our results suggest that the divide was increasingly present in the anti-populists' messages, and it was associated with the strategic use of appeals to negativity, emotions, knowledge, and rationality. This indicates that even though anti-populists claim their rational and fact-based approach, the style of their communication reveals an emotional component, contributing to the overall level of polarization.

Czech name

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Czech description

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Type

O - Miscellaneous

CEP classification

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OECD FORD branch

50601 - Political science

Project

<a href="/en/project/LX22NPO5101" target="_blank" >LX22NPO5101: The National Institute for Research on the Socioeconomic Impact of Diseases and Systemic Risks</a><br>

Continuities

P - Projekt vyzkumu a vyvoje financovany z verejnych zdroju (s odkazem do CEP)

Publication year

2024

Confidentiality

S - Úplné a pravdivé údaje o projektu nepodléhají ochraně podle zvláštních právních předpisů