Popular politics a dicourse theory analysis of Ecuador President Rafael Correa's TV/radio program Citizen Link
- Authors
- Le?n Burch, Ver?nica Sol
- Format
- MasterThesis
- Status
- publishedVersion
- Description
At a moment when the relationships between media and politics seem to be challenging democracy, very polarised media wars have emerged in the context of Latin America's 'left turn'. The private media, highly intertwined with the market and traditional powers, have become strong political oppositional actors, while progressive governments challenging many neoliberal logics have deployed a series of 'populist' media strategies, which have generated many debate in terms of their legitimacy and democratic nature. In this context, a new format of direct communication has emerged in the region, among which Ecuadorian president's program Citizen Link. Most debates around these media wars have focused on political economy aspects and the power relations among different actors. While these aspects are crucial to understand the setting, not enough attention has been put on the discourse constructed through the different media. I will contribute to these debates by proposing a discourse theory analysis. Guided by the general question of what role can a direct communication format play in a process of political 'turn' and what are its democratic implications, I will frame the discussion around Laclau's post-marxist theories on populism, to undertake a discourse theory analysis of the program Citizen Link. I will focus on the building of two political camps and the tensions between a counter-hegemonic process and its transition towards hegemony. I shall argue that while the format could play a role in legitimizing a process that has challenged many entrenched powers, it has failed to promote an inclusive and participatory arena, thus putting the whole political process at risk.
- Publication Year
- 2014
- Language
- eng
- Topic
- ENLACE CIUDADANO
POPULISMO LATINOAMERICANO
COMUNICACI?N POL?TICA
RAFAEL CORREA
DEMOCRACIA
DISCURSO POL?TICO
- Repository
- Repositorio SENESCYT
- Rights
- openAccess
- License
- openAccess