Loading...
Date of Award
Spring 2020
Degree Name
Bachelor of Arts
Department
Historical & Political Studies; College of Arts & Sciences
First Advisor
Jennifer Riggan
Abstract
In this paper, I investigated how national-populist rhetoric scapegoats minority communities for sociocultural dissatisfaction. I argue that the propagandistic narrative used by the current administrations of India and The United States to bolster support amongst their base results in immigrant and minority communities being blamed for cultural anxiety and economic dissatisfaction. I demonstrate this argument by displaying how policies of economic liberalization under the administrations of Obama and M. Singh perpetuated conditions in American and Indian society that made people predisposed to accept the anti-establishment narrative of national-populist idealogues. Afterwards, I demonstrate how the language used by Trump and Modi, manipulate the narrative surrounding their respective nation's tumultuous socio-economic conditions to scapegoat immigrants and minorities for the failures of neoliberal policy. The method of investigation was to discursively analyze political speeches from Trump and Modi and qualitatively examine them for patterns of speech that blame minority groups for sociocultural dissatisfaction. The results of my analysis were that Trump and Modi consistently show patterns of using language that reduces out-group empathy and that they repeatedly use this emotionally charged language to blame minorities for sociocultural dissatisfaction. This research is important because understanding the underlying conditions that allow a group to become targeted for identitarian propaganda gives the academic community a greater understanding of how to prevent it in the future.
Recommended Citation
Konopa, Zachary T., "Trading Neoliberalism for Nationalism : How National-Populist Idealogues in India and The United States Use Sociocultural Dissatisfaction to Scapegoat Minorities" (2020). Capstone Showcase. 24.
https://scholarworks.arcadia.edu/showcase/2020/is/24
Additional Files
Trading Nationalism for Neoliberalism (1).pptx (3823 kB)Trading Neoliberalism for Nationalism v5.docx (43 kB)
Trading Neoliberalism for Nationalism : How National-Populist Idealogues in India and The United States Use Sociocultural Dissatisfaction to Scapegoat Minorities
In this paper, I investigated how national-populist rhetoric scapegoats minority communities for sociocultural dissatisfaction. I argue that the propagandistic narrative used by the current administrations of India and The United States to bolster support amongst their base results in immigrant and minority communities being blamed for cultural anxiety and economic dissatisfaction. I demonstrate this argument by displaying how policies of economic liberalization under the administrations of Obama and M. Singh perpetuated conditions in American and Indian society that made people predisposed to accept the anti-establishment narrative of national-populist idealogues. Afterwards, I demonstrate how the language used by Trump and Modi, manipulate the narrative surrounding their respective nation's tumultuous socio-economic conditions to scapegoat immigrants and minorities for the failures of neoliberal policy. The method of investigation was to discursively analyze political speeches from Trump and Modi and qualitatively examine them for patterns of speech that blame minority groups for sociocultural dissatisfaction. The results of my analysis were that Trump and Modi consistently show patterns of using language that reduces out-group empathy and that they repeatedly use this emotionally charged language to blame minorities for sociocultural dissatisfaction. This research is important because understanding the underlying conditions that allow a group to become targeted for identitarian propaganda gives the academic community a greater understanding of how to prevent it in the future.