Anti-pluralist arguments in the Tea Party online discourse: A mixed method analysis of populist rhetoric
Populism can be treated as an ideological attribute of political parties, but in this study, it is operationalized as a feature of argumentation that allows populists to claim to be the only ones to represent the interests of the nation. Such anti-pluralist arguments could be observed during US mid...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Polskie Towarzystwo Retoryczne/ Polish Rhetoric Society
2022-10-01
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| Series: | Res Rhetorica |
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| Online Access: | http://www.resrhetorica.com/index.php/RR/article/view/675 |
| _version_ | 1811182364000256000 |
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| author | Robert Radziej Katarzyna Molek-Kozakowska |
| author_facet | Robert Radziej Katarzyna Molek-Kozakowska |
| author_sort | Robert Radziej |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description |
Populism can be treated as an ideological attribute of political parties, but in this study, it is operationalized as a feature of argumentation that allows populists to claim to be the only ones to represent the interests of the nation. Such anti-pluralist arguments could be observed during US midterm elections in 2018 in online discourses of the right-wing political movement Tea Party. This article reports on a mixed-method study of the Tea Party’s official website obtained through scraping the All News feed. The quantitative linguistic analysis of keywords, concordances and couplings in the newsfeed sample is complemented with a qualitative rhetorical analysis of some topoi and argumentative fallacies. The analyses reveal such strategies as: (1) homogenizing the representation of true patriots, (2) polarizing between “good us” and “evil them,” (3) discrediting opponents through analogies, “worst” examples and ad hominem attacks (4) conspiracy theorizing, and (5) mobilizing modes of pathos and ethos in relation to mediatized and historicized cultural imaginaries. The study showcases the advantages of a mixed-method approach to the so-called populist rhetoric.
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| first_indexed | 2024-04-11T09:31:17Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-6f3fa4699e884606b751de9f6be858d4 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2392-3113 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-04-11T09:31:17Z |
| publishDate | 2022-10-01 |
| publisher | Polskie Towarzystwo Retoryczne/ Polish Rhetoric Society |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Res Rhetorica |
| spelling | doaj.art-6f3fa4699e884606b751de9f6be858d42022-12-22T04:31:53ZengPolskie Towarzystwo Retoryczne/ Polish Rhetoric SocietyRes Rhetorica2392-31132022-10-019310.29107/rr2022.3.6Anti-pluralist arguments in the Tea Party online discourse: A mixed method analysis of populist rhetoricRobert RadziejKatarzyna Molek-Kozakowska0UNIVERSITY OF OPOLE, POLAND; VILNIUS GEDIMINAS TECHNICAL UNIVERSITY, LITHUANIA Populism can be treated as an ideological attribute of political parties, but in this study, it is operationalized as a feature of argumentation that allows populists to claim to be the only ones to represent the interests of the nation. Such anti-pluralist arguments could be observed during US midterm elections in 2018 in online discourses of the right-wing political movement Tea Party. This article reports on a mixed-method study of the Tea Party’s official website obtained through scraping the All News feed. The quantitative linguistic analysis of keywords, concordances and couplings in the newsfeed sample is complemented with a qualitative rhetorical analysis of some topoi and argumentative fallacies. The analyses reveal such strategies as: (1) homogenizing the representation of true patriots, (2) polarizing between “good us” and “evil them,” (3) discrediting opponents through analogies, “worst” examples and ad hominem attacks (4) conspiracy theorizing, and (5) mobilizing modes of pathos and ethos in relation to mediatized and historicized cultural imaginaries. The study showcases the advantages of a mixed-method approach to the so-called populist rhetoric. http://www.resrhetorica.com/index.php/RR/article/view/675populismrhetoricargumentationlinguistic couplingmobilizationanti-pluralism |
| spellingShingle | Robert Radziej Katarzyna Molek-Kozakowska Anti-pluralist arguments in the Tea Party online discourse: A mixed method analysis of populist rhetoric Res Rhetorica populism rhetoric argumentation linguistic coupling mobilization anti-pluralism |
| title | Anti-pluralist arguments in the Tea Party online discourse: A mixed method analysis of populist rhetoric |
| title_full | Anti-pluralist arguments in the Tea Party online discourse: A mixed method analysis of populist rhetoric |
| title_fullStr | Anti-pluralist arguments in the Tea Party online discourse: A mixed method analysis of populist rhetoric |
| title_full_unstemmed | Anti-pluralist arguments in the Tea Party online discourse: A mixed method analysis of populist rhetoric |
| title_short | Anti-pluralist arguments in the Tea Party online discourse: A mixed method analysis of populist rhetoric |
| title_sort | anti pluralist arguments in the tea party online discourse a mixed method analysis of populist rhetoric |
| topic | populism rhetoric argumentation linguistic coupling mobilization anti-pluralism |
| url | http://www.resrhetorica.com/index.php/RR/article/view/675 |
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