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Constructing (Il)Legitimate Democracy: Populism and Power Concentration in Newspaper Discourse on Venezuela
Örebro universitet, Institutionen för humaniora, utbildnings- och samhällsvetenskap. (Medier och journalistik)ORCID iD: 0000-0001-9515-4691
2014 (English)In: tripleC: Communication, Capitalism & Critique, E-ISSN 1726-670X, Vol. 12, no 2, p. 802-821Article in journal (Refereed) Published
Abstract [en]

Despite scholarly consensus about the importance of the media for democracy, scant attention has been paid to what democracy means to journalistic discourse and how discourses on democracy are interrelated with legitimacy. The aim of this paper is to explore how (il)legitimate democracy is constructed in newspaper discourse. By using critical discourse analysis (CDA), this paper examines foreign news items about Venezuela, a country that under the presidency of Hugo Chávez has challenged the dominant global political and economic orders. The analysis section focuses on two discourses about the Venezuelan government: the constructions of populism  and power concentration, which serve to mark deviance from what is perceived as a legitimate democracy. This paper argues that a liberal perception of democracy constitutes a central framework for the construction of (il)legitimate democracy, which is revealed not least by news discourse’s focus on what is morally unacceptable political conduct according to liberal democratic norms. In this respect, the media discourse serves to denounce potential abuses of governmental power but fail to recognize democracy in the context of a social struggle against the effects of neoliberalism and capitalism. In this case, the news media is hegemonic in the Gramscian sense, because it provides a framework of democracy that remains within the dominant economic and political structures.

Place, publisher, year, edition, pages
2014. Vol. 12, no 2, p. 802-821
Keywords [en]
Democracy; Media; Journalism; Discourse; Ideology; Legitimacy; Liberalism; Foreign News, Venezuela, Hugo Chávez
National Category
Media and Communications
Research subject
Media and Communication Studies
Identifiers
URN: urn:nbn:se:hj:diva-27909OAI: oai:DiVA.org:hj-27909DiVA, id: diva2:853041
Available from: 2015-09-11 Created: 2015-09-11 Last updated: 2023-06-30Bibliographically approved
In thesis
1. Through a post-political gaze: On the ideological loading of democracy in the coverage of Chávez's Venezuela
Open this publication in new window or tab >>Through a post-political gaze: On the ideological loading of democracy in the coverage of Chávez's Venezuela
2015 (English)Doctoral thesis, comprehensive summary (Other academic)
Place, publisher, year, edition, pages
Örebro: Örebro university, 2015. p. 124
Series
Örebro Studies in Media and Communication, ISSN 1651-4785 ; 20
National Category
Media and Communications
Research subject
Media and Communication Studies
Identifiers
urn:nbn:se:hj:diva-27907 (URN)9789175290836 (ISBN)
Public defence
2015-06-12, Prismahuset, Hörsal 1, Örebro universitet, 13:15 (English)
Opponent
Available from: 2015-04-08 Created: 2015-09-11 Last updated: 2016-09-06Bibliographically approved

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Abalo, Ernesto

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