Who Are “The Pure People”? Populist Supporters And The Role Of Media In The Populist Imagined Community

Abstract

This dissertation conducts a comparative analysis of right-wing and left-wing populism in the United States and Spain to uncover how populist supporters (RQ1) use online media to engage with like-minded people, (RQ2) interpret the populist message defining “the people’s” leaders and enemies, (RQ3.1) characterize their imagined community of “the people,” and (RQ3.2) satisfy specific social-psychological needs through their membership in said community. Research on fandom, political talk and the hybrid media system informs an analysis of populist supporters’ interviews and online interactions. Findings reveal that populist supporters engage with online communities of politically like-minded users to validate and strengthen their political and social identities. Additionally, populist supporters use markers of community membership in their collective interpretations of leaders and perceived enemies, with users expressing intense emotions and mutually reinforcing their viewpoints. Finally, the overwhelmingly positive attributes associated with “the people” suggest that populist supporters satisfied individual (e.g. improved self-esteem) and social (e.g. sense of belonging) needs through their membership in their imagined community. Populist supporters appear to obtain a sense of belonging by imagining themselves as members of “the people” and, then, by connecting with fellow members in online spaces. These experiences appear to be highly rewarding and crucial for populist supporters’ political mobilization.