"Us" Versus "Them": Jair Bolsonaro's Construction of a Populist Frame

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Last Modified
  • April 30, 2020
Creator
  • Hannah Elizabeth Day
    • Affiliation: College of Arts and Sciences, Department of Global Studies
Abstract
  • This thesis examines how Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro constructs and disseminates a populist frame that positions “the people” against “the others.” To answer this question, I conducted a textual analysis of Bolsonaro’s tweets from October 14, 2018 to January 2, 2020 using the qualitative analysis software ATLAS.ti. My results demonstrated three trends in Bolsonaro’s discourse. First, Bolsonaro positions himself as the defender of “the people,” an in-group defined by shared values of freedom, family and faith. Second, he articulates a sense of cultural threat, so that “the others” includes the LGBTQ community, indigenous people and women. Third, he communicates solidarity with the political right and hostility to the political left. This study emphasizes that the populist conceptualization of reality is contingent upon the construction of an in-group against an out-group.
Date of publication
DOI
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  • In Copyright
Advisor
  • Vachudova, Milada
    • Affiliation: College of Arts and Sciences, Department of Political Science
Degree
  • Bachelor of Arts
Graduation year
  • 2020
Language
  • English

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