Social media discourses amidst ethnopolitical extremism and conflict

The case of Ethiopia

Datos Bibliográficos

ID6013554
AutoresKibrom Berhane Gessesse (0009-0001-9774-3155, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, Canada), Mulatu Alemayehu Moges (0000-0002-5616-881X, Oslomet University, Oslo, Norway)
Año2025
Volumen28
Número3
Páginas408-433
Fecha de publicación2025-10-23
Peer ReviewedSí
Open AccessSí
TipoARTICLE
RevistaDiscourse Studies (JOURNAL)
Identificadores de la revistaISSN: 1461-4456 • E-ISSN: 1461-7080
EditorialSAGE Publishing (PUBLISHER • US)
DOI10.1177/14614456251374251
OpenAlexW4415463419
IdiomaEN
Citas recibidas2
Referencias citadas29

This article examines how influencers and political armies in Ethiopia use social media specifically Facebook to propagate sectarian rhetoric and ethnopolitical extremism within a society grappling with protracted internal conflicts, prolonged ethnopolitical extremism, and armed clashes. The study employs qualitative research methodology, using critical discourse analysis (CDA) alongside facets of rhetorical analysis, to examine Facebook posts and comments produced in English and Amharic languages during the post-Tigray War politically tense period (the final quadrimester of 2023) amidst armed conflicts in the Amhara region. By purposively sampling content from pages of political influencers and elites, the study investigates the rhetorical patterns and discursive constructions shaping ethnopolitical narratives. The analysis reveals that the rhetorical and discursive patterns and textual trajectories on Facebook in Ethiopia are characterized by hostilities and animus, which are prone to promoting ethnopolitical radicalization and deepening the schism among ethnic and political groups

African history and culture analysis · Political theory and Gramsci · Social Media and Politics