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Measuring populist discourse with semantic text analysis: an application on grassroots populist mobilization

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  • Paris Aslanidis

    (Yale University)

Abstract

Populism is a concept employed to qualify the political behavior of a large number of actors at a worldwide scale, with scientists classifying the latter into populists and non-populists according to dimensions such as ideology, strategy, discourse, economic policy, and even style. This article analyzes existing schools of thought on the nature of populism and argues that conceptualizing populism as a specific type of anti-elite discourse in the name of the People is both conceptually and methodologically the most coherent and useful way to understand the phenomenon. Additionally, it suggests discarding crude, dichotomous classification in favor of a gradated view of populist mobilization by means of quantifying populist discourse and observing its spatial and temporal variation. It adds value to current methods of measurement by demonstrating why and how clause-based semantic text analysis can provide optimal quantitative results while retaining qualitative elements for mixed-methods analysis. Aiming, moreover, at expanding the scope of populism studies by overcoming a narrow view that focuses exclusively at party system developments, it applies semantic text analysis to the study of grassroots mobilization during the Great Recession. Results point to the wide use of populist discourse on the part of movement activists seeking an inclusive language when framing disparate social grievances in a given constituency, a finding with important implications with regards to how populism can facilitate straddling the divide that purportedly distinguishes institutionalized party system behavior from the social movement milieu.

Suggested Citation

  • Paris Aslanidis, 2018. "Measuring populist discourse with semantic text analysis: an application on grassroots populist mobilization," Quality & Quantity: International Journal of Methodology, Springer, vol. 52(3), pages 1241-1263, May.
  • Handle: RePEc:spr:qualqt:v:52:y:2018:i:3:d:10.1007_s11135-017-0517-4
    DOI: 10.1007/s11135-017-0517-4
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Grimmer, Justin & Stewart, Brandon M., 2013. "Text as Data: The Promise and Pitfalls of Automatic Content Analysis Methods for Political Texts," Political Analysis, Cambridge University Press, vol. 21(3), pages 267-297, July.
    2. Carl Roberts & Cornelia Zuell & Juliane Landmann & Yong Wang, 2010. "Modality analysis: a semantic grammar for imputations of intentionality in texts," Quality & Quantity: International Journal of Methodology, Springer, vol. 44(2), pages 239-257, February.
    3. Rudiger Dornbusch & Sebastian Edwards, 1991. "The Macroeconomics of Populism in Latin America," NBER Books, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc, number dorn91-1.
    4. Rudiger Dornbusch & Sebastian Edwards, 1991. "The Macroeconomics of Populism," NBER Chapters, in: The Macroeconomics of Populism in Latin America, pages 7-13, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    5. Benjamin Moffitt & Simon Tormey, 2014. "Rethinking Populism: Politics, Mediatisation and Political Style," Political Studies, Political Studies Association, vol. 62(2), pages 381-397, June.
    6. Caramani, Daniele, 2017. "Will vs. Reason: The Populist and Technocratic Forms of Political Representation and Their Critique to Party Government," American Political Science Review, Cambridge University Press, vol. 111(1), pages 54-67, February.
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    1. Laura Cervi & Santiago Tejedor, 2020. "Framing “The Gypsy Problem”: Populist Electoral Use of Romaphobia in Italy (2014–2019)," Social Sciences, MDPI, vol. 9(6), pages 1-16, June.
    2. Laura Cervi & Fernando García & Carles Marín-Lladó, 2021. "Populism, Twitter, and COVID-19: Narrative, Fantasies, and Desires," Social Sciences, MDPI, vol. 10(8), pages 1-18, August.
    3. Koch, Cédric M., 2021. "Varieties of populism and the challenges to Global Constitutionalism: Dangers promises and implications," EconStor Open Access Articles and Book Chapters, ZBW - Leibniz Information Centre for Economics, vol. 10(3), pages 400-438.
    4. Ondřej Stulík, 2019. "Do we have all the necessary data? The challenge of measuring populism through metaphors," Quality & Quantity: International Journal of Methodology, Springer, vol. 53(5), pages 2653-2670, September.
    5. Ondřej Stulík, 2023. "Recognising and applying equivalent meanings: an example of creating a codebook from a language-game of extremism in the Czech Republic," Quality & Quantity: International Journal of Methodology, Springer, vol. 57(2), pages 1501-1518, April.
    6. Laura Cervi & Santiago Tejedor & Mónica Gracia Villar, 2023. "Twitting Against the Enemy: Populist Radical Right Parties Discourse Against the (Political) “Other”," Politics and Governance, Cogitatio Press, vol. 11(2), pages 235-248.

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