scholarly journals Cultures of rejection at work: Investigating the acceptability of authoritarian populism

Ethnicities ◽  
2021 ◽  
pp. 146879682110124
Author(s):  
Alexander Harder ◽  
Benjamin Opratko
Keyword(s):  
Public Sphere ◽  
Social Cohesion ◽  
Political Authority ◽  
Two Dimensions ◽  
Moral Order ◽  
Right Wing ◽  
The Public ◽  
Authoritarian Populism ◽  
Right Wing Populism ◽  
The Public Sphere

This article introduces the concept of cultures of rejection as a framing device to investigate conditions of acceptability of authoritarian populism among workers in Germany and Austria. After situating the concept in the current scholarly debate on right-wing populism and discussing its main theoretical points of reference, we offer an analysis focusing on experiences of crisis and transformation. Two elements of cultures of rejection are discussed in depth: the rejection of racialised and/or culturalised ‘unproductive’ others; and the rejection of the public sphere, linked to the emergence of a ‘shielded subjectivity’. These articulations of rejection are then discussed as related to two dimensions of a crisis of authority: the crisis of state or political authority in the field of labour and the economy; and the crisis of a moral order, experienced as decline in social cohesion. In conclusion, we identify possible avenues for further research, demonstrating the productivity of the conceptual framework of cultures of rejection.

scholarly journals Rechtspopulismus als Krisenbearbeitung

2017 ◽  
Vol 47 (186) ◽  
Author(s):  
Benjamin Opratko
Keyword(s):  
Public Sphere ◽  
Economic Crisis ◽  
Political Representation ◽  
Three Dimensions ◽  
Right Wing ◽  
The Public ◽  
Right Wing Populism ◽  
The Public Sphere ◽  
Modes Of Engagement

The article discusses the rise of right-wing populism in Europe in the context of neoliberal capitalism’s „crisis of hegemony“. The cases of the Austrian FPÖ and Germany’s AfD are analyzed as instances of an „autoritarian populism“, intervening into this crisis and offering subjective modes of engagement with it. Three dimensions of the crisis of hegemony are considered in particular: A crisis of political representation, a crisis of the public sphere, and an economic crisis.

(Un)Liberated and Contested Narratives

2019 ◽  
pp. 334-347
Author(s):  
Bongani C Ndhlovu
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
Public Sphere ◽  
South African ◽  
Social Cohesion ◽  
Nation Building ◽  
The State ◽  
The Public ◽  
The Public Sphere ◽  
The Many ◽  
Contested Narratives

This chapter analyses the influence of the state in shaping museum narratives, especially in a liberated society such as South Africa. It argues that while the notion of social cohesion and nation building is an ideal that many South African museums should strive for, the technocratisation of museum processes has to a degree led to a disregard of the public sphere as a space of open engagement. Secondly, the chapter also looks at the net-effect of museums professionals and boards in the development of their narrative. It argues that due to the nature of their expertise and interests, and the focus on their areas of specialisation, museums may hardly claim to be representative of the many voices they ought to represent. As such, the chapter explores contestations in museum spaces. It partly does so by exploring the notion “free-spokenness” and its limits in museum spaces. To amplify its argument, the chapter uses some exhibitions that generated critical engagements from Iziko Museums of South Africa.

Homophobia and queer belonging in Hungary

Focaal ◽  
2009 ◽  
Vol 2009 (53) ◽  
pp. 20-37 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hadley Z. Renkin
Keyword(s):  
Public Sphere ◽  
Verbal Aggression ◽  
Right Wing ◽  
Multiple Forms ◽  
The Public ◽  
Public Projects ◽  
Ethnographic Fieldwork ◽  
Lgbt Activism ◽  
Lgbt People ◽  
The Public Sphere

Violent attacks on gay and lesbian activities in the public sphere, coupled with verbal aggression against sexual minorities by right-wing politicians in Hungary and other postsocialist countries, illustrate the centrality of sexuality in questions of postsocialist transition. This article discusses the limits of current scholarly interpretations of homophobia in postsocialist countries. Drawing on ethnographic fieldwork on LGBT activism in Hungary, it argues that by undertaking public projects that assert multiple forms of identity and community, LGBT people, although often portrayed as passive objects of the changing configurations of power of Hungary's transition, have raised a radical challenge to traditional imaginings of the boundaries between national and transnational meanings. It is this challenge—the proposal of a “queering” of belonging—to which right-wing, nationalist actors have responded with public violence.

scholarly journals The Limited Influence of Right-Wing Movements on Social Media User Engagement

2021 ◽  
Vol 7 (3) ◽  
pp. 205630512110416
Author(s):  
Carsten Schwemmer
Keyword(s):  
Social Media ◽  
Public Sphere ◽  
Information Diffusion ◽  
User Engagement ◽  
Right Wing ◽  
Public Attention ◽  
Online Data ◽  
The Public ◽  
News Reports ◽  
The Public Sphere

This article generates new insights into the dynamic interplay between social media content generated by right-wing movements, user engagement, and the public attention movements receive. I argue that movement leaders seek to achieve high user engagement for utilizing mechanisms of information diffusion to increase both online and on-site mobilization. In a case study, I analyze the German right-wing movement Pegida, which uses Facebook for spreading its anti-Islam agenda online. Data from Pegida’s Facebook page are combined with news reports over a period of 18 months to measure activity on Facebook and in the public sphere simultaneously. Results of quantitative text and time series analysis show that Pegida cannot influence user engagement by simply creating more posts. Instead, it is the content of posts that matters. Moreover, findings highlight a strong connection between Facebook activities and the public sphere. In times of decreasing attention, the movement changes its social media strategy in response to exogenous shocks: Pegida resorts increasingly to radical mobilization methods by posting xenophobic content that is more likely to incite users to engage on Facebook.

Abusing Public Visual History

2020 ◽  
Vol 42 (3) ◽  
pp. 61-85
Author(s):  
Magdalena Saryusz-Wolska
Keyword(s):  
Best Practices ◽  
Public Sphere ◽  
Public History ◽  
Right Wing ◽  
The Public ◽  
Ethical Codes ◽  
The Past ◽  
Illustrated Press ◽  
The Public Sphere ◽  
Visual History

The covers of the two mainstream right-wing magazines in Poland, (W) Sieci and Do Rzeczy, have put numerous images on display that refer to well-known events from the past. However, most of the images suggest incorrect interpretations or even falsify historical facts. Asserting that visual history as presented in the illustrated press belongs to the field of public history, the author discusses the consequences of such a deceptive use of history in the public sphere. The article challenges the affirmative approach of public history by showing that scholars should pay more attention to those who ignore ethical codes and do not follow what are considered to be best practices.

Pliuvium’s Unholy Trinity: Russian Nationhood, Anti-Semitism, and the Public Sphere after 1905

Experiment ◽  
2013 ◽  
Vol 19 (1) ◽  
pp. 87-116
Author(s):  
Stephen M. Norris
Keyword(s):  
Public Sphere ◽  
Right Wing ◽  
Far Right ◽  
The Public ◽  
Imperial Culture ◽  
Anti Semitism ◽  
The Public Sphere ◽  
The Right

Abstract This article focuses on anti-Semitic cartoons published in the right-wing, satirical, illustrated newspaper Pliuvium, which appeared in Russia after the 1905 Revolution. The illustrated journal represented one of the new, far-right media outlets in the wake of the events of 1905 and its editors sought to redefine Russia as a traditional monarchy, home to ethnic Russians. To accomplish this aim, Pliuvium employed caricaturists who drew contrasts between Russians and Jews, turning the latter into the antithesis of the nation. Through close readings of several anti-Semitic images from the newspaper, the author seeks to reveal the broader historical forces contained within them. In the end, these cartoons help us understand the “unholy trinity” comprising the ugly side of Russian nationhood, racism in Russian imperial culture, and the emergence of far-right publics by 1905.

scholarly journals Social Media Strategies of Right-Wing Movements - The Radicalization of Pegida

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Carsten Schwemmer
Keyword(s):  
Social Media ◽  
Public Sphere ◽  
Right Wing ◽  
Public Attention ◽  
The Public ◽  
News Reports ◽  
Exogenous Shocks ◽  
User Activity ◽  
Social Media Platforms ◽  
The Public Sphere

This paper investigates how right-wing movements strategically utilize social media for communication with supporters. I argue that movements seek to maximize user activity on social media platforms for increasing on-site mobilization. To examine what factors affect social media activity and how right-wing movements strategically adjust their content, I analyze the German right-wing movement Pegida, which uses Facebook for spreading its anti-Islam agenda and promoting events in the Internet. Data from Pegida’s Facebook page are combined with news reports over a period of 18 months to measure activity on Facebook and in the public sphere simultaneously. Results of quantitative text and time series analysis show that the quantity of posts by Pegida does not increase user activity, but it is the content of posts that matters. Moreover, findings highlight a strong connection between Facebook activities and the public sphere. In times of decreasing public attention, the movement changes its social media strategy in response to exogenous shocks and resorts increasingly to radical mobilization methods.

scholarly journals The New Brazilian Right and the Public Sphere

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Camila Rocha
Keyword(s):  
Social Network ◽  
Public Sphere ◽  
Historical Data ◽  
New Right ◽  
Right Wing ◽  
The Public ◽  
Public Data ◽  
The Public Sphere ◽  
Full Throttle ◽  
Depth Interviews

This paper traces the origins of the New Brazilian Right, regarding the emergence of new leaders, new forms of expression and organization, as well as new sets of ideas, namely libertarianism and anti-globalism. Based on more than thirty in-depth interviews, conducted between 2015 and 2019 with right-wing leaders and activists; on a collection of historical data from right-wing organisations’ archives between 2015 and 2018, and on public data, I argue that this phenomenon started in the mid-2000s, after the onset of a corruption scandal related to the Partido dos Trabalhadores (PT) and the dissemination of the pioneering social network Orkut in Brazil. This social network, founded in 2004, preceded Facebook’s popularity in Brazil and enabled the creation of alternative and disruptive spaces of debate, referred to here as “counterpublics”. By mid- to late 2010s, during the 2014 protests for the impeachment of Dilma Rousseff and Jair Bolsonaro’s 2018 presidential campaign, this emerging new right would be at full throttle.

scholarly journals Dąbrowszczacy: między symbolem antyfaszyzmu a polityką antykomunizmu

2019 ◽  
Vol 63 (2) ◽  
pp. 133-161
Author(s):  
Jakub Wysmułek
Keyword(s):  
Public Sphere ◽  
Collective Memory ◽  
Social Memory ◽  
Right Wing ◽  
Cultural Hegemony ◽  
The Public ◽  
Empirical Basis ◽  
Generational Changes ◽  
History Of ◽  
The Public Sphere

This article concerns the changes that have been occurring in Poles’ collective memory not only in regard to historical policy but also in regard to spontaneous social activeness. The author’s empirical basis was formed by interviews with the organizers and participants of protests against plans to change the name of a street [ul. Dąbrowszczaków], and of other activities in the years 2016–2019 aimed at popularizing the history of. The problem is presented in the context of the debate among historians, publicists, and politicians of right-wing and left-liberal circles over the historical policy. The author interprets attempts to remove the civil war volunteers from the public sphere in Poland as part of a broader historical policy aimed at achieving cultural hegemony over Poles’ social memory and identity. He analyzes the protests in defense of this volunteers primarily in the context of the generational changes that have enabled the appearance of a new, leftist “memory actor.”

scholarly journals Post-Truth Politics, Digital Media, and the Politicization of the Global Compact for Migration

2021 ◽  
Vol 9 (3) ◽  
pp. 301-311 ◽  
Author(s):  
Maximilian Conrad
Keyword(s):  
Social Media ◽  
Public Sphere ◽  
Digital Media ◽  
Political Institutions ◽  
Right Wing ◽  
Cultural Economic ◽  
Global Compact ◽  
Public Spheres ◽  
The Public ◽  
The Public Sphere

The debate over the Global Compact for Safe, Orderly and Regular Migration (GCM) in late 2018 showcases the crucial role of digital and, in particular, social media as vehicles of disinformation that populist actors can exploit in an effort to create resentment and fear in the public sphere. While mainstream political actors and legacy media initially did not address the issue, right-wing populist actors claimed ownership by framing (presumably <em>obligatory</em>) mass immigration as a matter of social, cultural, economic, and not least political risk, and created an image of political and cultural elites conspiring to keep the issue out of the public sphere. Initially advanced via digital and social media, such frames resonated sufficiently strongly in civil society to politicize the GCM in various national public spheres. In this article, these dynamics are explored by comparing the politicization of the GCM in three EU member states, namely Germany, Austria, and Sweden. Using a process-tracing design, the article (a) identifies the key actors in the process, (b) analyzes how the issue emerged in social and other digital media and travelled from digital media into mainstream mass media discourse, and finally (c) draws comparative conclusions from the three analyzed cases. Particular emphasis is placed on the frames used by right-wing populist actors, how these frames resonated in the wider public sphere and thereby generated communicative power against the GCM, ultimately forcing the issue onto the agenda of national public spheres and political institutions.

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