Research Seminar - Discursive Disruption, Populist Communication and Democracy

Discursive Disruption, Populist Communication and Democracy

Presented by: Dr Elena Block

Date: Friday 4 November 2022
Time: 3–5:30pm
Location: SCA Writer's Studio (Level 6, Michie Building)

Abstract

It has become commonplace to hear that we are living in times of disruption. Against this background, this book focuses on two issues that have been prominent in the political agenda in the last two decades: Populist rhetoric is on the rise and democratic discourses have been undermined. Is there a connection between these two topics? Of what nature? This book proposes Discursive Disruption as a new conceptual and analytical framework that helps to make sense of disruptive communication strategies and speech styles with the power to transgress and even change the discourses and conventions of democracy. At the heart of discursive disruption are some of the antidialogic and antidemocratic communicative strategies used by populist actors in positions of power. It reviews the cases of two controversial populist leaders, Venezuela’s late President Hugo Chávez and the United States’ (US) President Donald Trump, who despite their significant ideological, cultural, and socioeconomic differences are emblematic of the disruptive communicative style interrogated in this book. This study is, above all, a theoretical inquiry that explores the communicative and mediatic dimensions of populism adding a perspective that draws on democratic and discourse theories. This book also a demonstration of my concern about the polarization and blockages happening in the political conversation. I felt the need to document and critically analyse communicative facts and events that asked to be documented and critically analyzed. This is just a small contribution towards what Iris Young called a ‘communicative democracy”. 

Presenter

Dr Elena Block is a Lecturer in Strategic Communication at The University of Queensland's School of Communication and Arts. She has a PhD in Political Communication from The University of Queensland and MSc from the London School of Economic and Political Science (LSE). She has a long trajectory as a journalist, media relations and public affairs executive in Venezuela. Her main areas of interest: political communication; strategic communication; populist communication; the mediatisation of politics and society; CGI influencers and their impact on advocacy and PR.