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The Dark Side of Inspirational Pasts: An Investigation of Nostalgia in Right-Wing Populist Communication

Author

Listed:
  • Manuel Menke

    (Department of Communication, University of Copenhagen, Denmark)

  • Tim Wulf

    (Department of Media and Communication, LMU Munich, Germany)

Abstract

In recent years, research found that populism employed a new strategy by using nostalgia, a sentimental longing for the past, as a communication tool to persuade citizens to support their political agendas. In populist campaigns, nostalgia is used to affectively link (alleged) crises with longing for a cherished past. In this article, we applied a mixed-methods approach to understand how populists exploit nostalgia in their communication and how nostalgic rhetoric has the potential to persuade people to support their claims. In Study 1, we conducted a case study based on a qualitative content analysis of Alternative for Germany’s (AfD) online election campaign in the 2019 Thuringia election in East Germany. The analysis revealed that the campaign was built around the nostalgic narrative of the 1989 peaceful revolution as a proud historical moment for former German Democratic Republic citizens while at the same time creating a sense of crisis supposedly caused by false post-reunification politics. To further investigate the persuasiveness of nostalgia, Study 2 used a statement from the campaign and found that participants tended to agree more with populist statements if they contained nostalgic rhetoric (compared to non-nostalgic populist and control rhetoric). These findings suggest that right-wing populists can effectively exploit nostalgia and that it may ‘sugarcoat’ populist messages.

Suggested Citation

  • Manuel Menke & Tim Wulf, 2021. "The Dark Side of Inspirational Pasts: An Investigation of Nostalgia in Right-Wing Populist Communication," Media and Communication, Cogitatio Press, vol. 9(2), pages 237-249.
    • Handle: RePEc:cog:meanco:v9:y:2021:i:2:p:237-249
    DOI: 10.17645/mac.v9i2.3803
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Inglehart, Ronald F. & Norris, Pippa, 2016. "Trump, Brexit, and the Rise of Populism: Economic Have-Nots and Cultural Backlash," Working Paper Series 16-026, Harvard University, John F. Kennedy School of Government.
    2. Benjamin Moffitt & Simon Tormey, 2014. "Rethinking Populism: Politics, Mediatisation and Political Style," Political Studies, Political Studies Association, vol. 62(2), pages 381-397, June.
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    1. Preece, Chloe & Kerrigan, Finola & O’Reilly, Daragh, 2025. "Theorizing regressive nostalgia: Understanding exclusionary consumers as a brand threat," International Journal of Research in Marketing, Elsevier, vol. 42(2), pages 411-432.

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