Guest Lecture Louise Knops
Media, populism, indignation: insights from the radical-right
Vrije Universiteit Brussel (Online)
4.5.21
Vrije Universiteit Brussel (Online)
4.5.21
On 4 May 2021 Louise Knops will give a lecture on populism, indignation and affect. The lecture is followed by ample time for debate moderated by Benjamin De Cleen (Vrije Universiteit Brussel).
The event takes place online from 13h-15h, and is open to everyone after registration through this link. The Zoom-link to attend the lecture will be sent out on the morning of the lecture.
The event takes place online from 13h-15h, and is open to everyone after registration through this link. The Zoom-link to attend the lecture will be sent out on the morning of the lecture.
Criticizing mainstream media for their ‘lies’ or ‘fake news’ has become a common political practice on the radical-right. Whilst this has been conceptualized at lengths, empirical research is needed to better understand the intricacies of these attacks on media, in particular for the way they enable radical-right actors to justify their claims to represent ‘the people’ and encourage indignation among radical-right audiences (Ganesh, 2021).
In this lecture, building on a recent article that analyzes the media-discourse of the Flemish radical-right movement Schild & Vrienden (Knops and Decleen, 2019), Louise Knops further explores the nexus between radical-right actors and media, by bringing-in the concept of indignation.
In particular, the lecture is organized in three parts: 1) in the first part, she unpacks the discourse of the movement Schild & Vrienden to unveil their love-hate relationship to media; 2) in the second part, she reveals how this relationship foregrounds their own claims to speak ‘the truth’ and represent ‘the Flemish people’; 3) in the third part, she introduces the concept of ‘media-indignation’ (Rone, 2021) to better understand the affective appeal of this strategy, and of the movement as a whole; and finally, she discusses the normative implications of bringing-in an ‘affect’ (indignation) to the study of populist and radical political discourses in Europe.
Louise Knops is a PhD student at the political science department of the Vrije Universiteit Brussel. Her doctoral research focuses on contemporary expressions of citizens’ indignation in Belgium. Her research interests range from political representation and affect theory, to social movement studies, environmental activism and populism.
In this lecture, building on a recent article that analyzes the media-discourse of the Flemish radical-right movement Schild & Vrienden (Knops and Decleen, 2019), Louise Knops further explores the nexus between radical-right actors and media, by bringing-in the concept of indignation.
In particular, the lecture is organized in three parts: 1) in the first part, she unpacks the discourse of the movement Schild & Vrienden to unveil their love-hate relationship to media; 2) in the second part, she reveals how this relationship foregrounds their own claims to speak ‘the truth’ and represent ‘the Flemish people’; 3) in the third part, she introduces the concept of ‘media-indignation’ (Rone, 2021) to better understand the affective appeal of this strategy, and of the movement as a whole; and finally, she discusses the normative implications of bringing-in an ‘affect’ (indignation) to the study of populist and radical political discourses in Europe.
Louise Knops is a PhD student at the political science department of the Vrije Universiteit Brussel. Her doctoral research focuses on contemporary expressions of citizens’ indignation in Belgium. Her research interests range from political representation and affect theory, to social movement studies, environmental activism and populism.
This event is organized as part of the course “Populist and Radical Political Discourses in Europe”, taught by Benjamin De Cleen in the Journalism and Media in Europe Master.
Other guest lecturers in the series:
Other guest lecturers in the series:
- Giorgos Katsambekis: populism and ‘the people’: beyond moralism and homogeneity (9 March)
- Ruth Breeze: nationalism and populism on the radical right (16 March)
- Jacopo Custodi: nationalism and populism in Podemos (23 March)
- Léonie de Jonge: the media and the populist radical right (30 March)
- Jana Goyvaerts: media and populism: defending what kind of democracy? (20 April)
- Katy Brown and Aurelien Mondon: media, populism and the mainstreaming of the radical right (27 April)