The Bully in the Pulpit

Autocracy, Digital Social Media, and Right-wing Populist Technoculture

Bibliographic Data

ID12918413
AuthorsNitin Govil (0009-0009-5182-3676, University of Southern California, corresponding author), Anirban K Baishya (0000-0002-4090-179X, University of Southern California)
Year2018
Volume11
Issue1
Pages67-84
Publication date2018-01-16
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessNo
TypeARTICLE
VenueCommunication Culture and Critique (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 1753-9137 • E-ISSN: 1753-9129
PublisherOxford University Press (OUP) (PUBLISHER)
DOI10.1093/ccc/tcx001
OpenAlexW2795305638
LanguageEN
Citations received28
References cited24

Focusing on new media’s disruption of conventional politics, we trace populism’s restylization of mass expression and political power. Through an analysis of the rise of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, we argue that online platforms offer new ways of concretizing political fantasies through the affective engagement of the user/citizen. While this seems to endow greater agency to “the people,” political authority is increasingly rerouted to the figure of the leader through religious and charismatic channels. In our elaboration of right-wing populist technoculture, we aim for a broader analytical framework that takes stock of the technological forces reconfiguring the conduct of contemporary politics, arguing that the link between digital social media and right-wing populism is not only contextual but also constitutive

Agency (philosophy · Authoritarianism · Autocracy · Charisma · Democracy · Media studies · Political economy · Political science · Politics · Populism · Power (physics · Pulpit · Right wing · Social science · Sociology · Gender, Feminism, and Media · Populism, Right-Wing Movements · Social Media and Politics · History · Law · Philosophy