The Populist Communication Strategy in Comparative Perspective

Bibliographic Data

ID12977673
AuthorsKaitlen J Cassell (0000-0002-3736-2000, corresponding author)
Year2021
Volume28
Issue4
Pages725-746
Publication date2021-12-13
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueThe International Journal of Press/Politics (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 1940-1612 • E-ISSN: 1040-1620
PublisherSAGE Publishing (PUBLISHER • US)
DOI10.1177/19401612211055695
OpenAlexW4200598549
LanguageEN
Citations received12
References cited55

Populism has captured the world's attention, especially during election campaigns where the starkness of populist messages comes into sharper focus. While most research focuses either on the content that actors communicate or their delivery of that content, I situate my research among the few studies that do both. I refer to this combination as a communication strategy. I evaluate two research questions: how is the populist communication strategy used and how do the communication strategies of populist and non-populist actors differ? To assess these questions, I collect original data during five national elections that occurred between 2018 and 2019: Mexico, Colombia, Brazil, Italy, and Spain ( N = 1,577). I measure different elements of communication strategies, including both content and style, in the Tweets of national-level candidates. I find stark differences in communication styles in both what actors talk about and how they convey their messages. This finding suggests that how actors convey their ideas is critical to advancing our understanding of actors’ overall communication strategies

Communication studies · Content analysis · Focus (optics · Geography · Perspective (graphical · Political communication · Political science · Politics · Populism · Public relations · Social science · Sociology · Style (visual arts · Computer Science · Media Influence and Politics · Misinformation and Its Impacts · Populism, Right-Wing Movements

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