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The Dark Side of Inspirational Pasts: An Investigation of Nostalgia in Right-Wing Populist Communication
[journal article]
Abstract In recent years, research found that populism employed a new strategy by using nostalgia, a sentimental longing for the past, as a communication tool to persuade citizens to support their political agendas. In populist campaigns, nostalgia is used to affectively link (alleged) crises with longing fo... view more
In recent years, research found that populism employed a new strategy by using nostalgia, a sentimental longing for the past, as a communication tool to persuade citizens to support their political agendas. In populist campaigns, nostalgia is used to affectively link (alleged) crises with longing for a cherished past. In this article, we applied a mixed-methods approach to understand how populists exploit nostalgia in their communication and how nostalgic rhetoric has the potential to persuade people to support their claims. In Study 1, we conducted a case study based on a qualitative content analysis of Alternative for Germany's (AfD) online election campaign in the 2019 Thuringia election in East Germany. The analysis revealed that the campaign was built around the nostalgic narrative of the 1989 peaceful revolution as a proud historical moment for former German Democratic Republic citizens while at the same time creating a sense of crisis supposedly caused by false post-reunification politics. To further investigate the persuasiveness of nostalgia, Study 2 used a statement from the campaign and found that participants tended to agree more with populist statements if they contained nostalgic rhetoric (compared to non-nostalgic populist and control rhetoric). These findings suggest that right-wing populists can effectively exploit nostalgia and that it may 'sugarcoat' populist messages.... view less
Classification
Political Process, Elections, Political Sociology, Political Culture
Media Contents, Content Analysis
Free Keywords
Alternative for Germany; German Democratic Republic; collective nostalgia; online election campaign; persuasion; political communication; populism
Document language
English
Publication Year
2021
Page/Pages
p. 237-249
Journal
Media and Communication, 9 (2021) 2
Issue topic
The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly: Inspirational Media between Meaning, Narration, and Manipulation
ISSN
2183-2439
Status
Published Version; peer reviewed