[Commlist] CfP: Jeopardizing Democracy throughout History: Media as Accomplice, Adversary or Amplifier of Populist and Radical Politics

ECREA Communication History Section Workshop Vienna, 11-13 September 2019
Austrian Academy of Sciences

Jeopardizing Democracy throughout History: Media as Accomplice, 
Adversary or Amplifier of Populist and Radical Politics

Populism appears to be on the rise for several years now and extreme 
ideologies as well as radical politics strive for power in many European 
democracies and around the globe. Public debate and political pundits 
suggest that there is a link between the proliferation of radical 
politics, trenches of polarization between political camps and across 
societies on the one side and contemporary media environments on the 
other. The emphasis on allegedly new phenomena such as fake news, echo 
chambers, hate speech or digital platforms as drivers of political 
polarization and as vessels of agitation, often neglects that mediated 
communication has always played a vital role in both safeguarding 
democracy as well as putting it in jeopardy.

For this workshop, the ECREA Communication History Section invites 
scholarly presentations to shed light on political communication that 
fosters populist and radical politics in a historical perspective and 
across various political and cultural settings in Europe and beyond, to 
learn from the past for contemporary challenges.

The goal is to understand the role media played as potential accomplices 
or carriers of populist agitation (e.g. in autocratic regimes or out of 
commercial premises), and as amplifiers of extreme political positions 
or groups and populist sentiment (e.g. sensationalist and simplistic 
reporting or excessive coverage for populist tropes). Media and mediated 
communication can however also act as countering forces and adversaries 
of radical politics and aim to tame blatant populism or maintain forums 
for civilized debate. The workshop is also interested in works that help 
to deconstruct or re-evaluate assumptions about counter publics, 
alternative media, both for democratically progressive or rather 
revisionist and reactionary goals, and it aims to assemble a broad 
portfolio of perspectives on the topic covering a variety of historical 
periods, national or supranational settings and media involved. We are 
interested in research that addresses the full scope of media history 
from early prints to the digital age.

More specifically, this ECREA Communication History Section Workshop 
will be open to papers dealing with:

- Populist communication strategies over time, spreading mistrust 
against social, cultural or political elites. We are interested in 
studies of how this played out in various settings and what 
communicative strategies were employed by populists from different 
political camps and for various ends. The anti-elite stance of populist 
rhetoric includes antagonizing legacy media and the institution of 
journalism, to discredit information and critical coverage. How was “the 
press” or were “the media” but also “science” antagonized by populists, 
and how did in the contrary media portray their own role as an antidote 
against populism and as guardians of democracy? Did the media contribute 
to the rise of populism by providing a forum for populist actors or 
being advocates on behalf of the people, with a critical attitude toward 
power holders and building on the same principles as populist 
communication? And for what reasons (power, influence, profit, ideology...)?

- Rumours, myths, lies and conspiracy theories. All of them have a long 
history of being used as a pretence to spark public outrage, or moral 
panic, to motivate uprisings or isolate social groups as scapegoats or 
fall guys for political gain. The workshop is interested in popular 
myths, catastrophic rumours and allegations as means of political 
controversy and the strategies and logics of fear mongering.

- Simplistic answers for complex problems. Typically, populist rhetoric 
is anti-elite and advocating for an ingroup (us) which would be 
threatened or abused by the elites or a perilous outgroup (them). We are 
interested in research, highlighting the historical dimension of 
propaganda against vulnerable social groups, minorities, foreigners, 
socially weak, handicapped, anti-Semitic or misogynist agitation.

- Persistence and discontinuities in how alternative media reached out 
and aimed to mobilize, inform or counteract public communication. In how 
far were the public observation and valuation favourable to such 
endeavours and when was it critical? How do the features and affordances 
of certain media support populist agitation, and can populism be linked 
to specific media ensembles?

- Political extremism and mainstream politics. What is considered a 
“radical” position is not an absolute but relative and transient. The 
workshop will thus welcome contributions which address the construction 
of mainstreams, centres, peripheries and extremes in political debate, 
public discourse or academic analysis, and how these categories were 
used to isolate certain positions and how the boundaries of public 
debate have shifted over time.

- Media governance and democracy. How were media considered responsible 
for the preservation and defense of democracy in different historical 
periods and geographies? How did governance institutions and regulatory 
bodies address issues of media freedom, and how did authorities act 
against radical agitation or mute legitimate public critic?

- Theoretical reflections on how current theoretical and methodological 
approaches be transferred to past scenarios. Is the research into 
populism antagonizing legitimate political voices and critique and 
contributing to political hegemony by how research approaches subversive 
forces? How do and did media and communication scholars normalize some 
communication practices and pathologize others? Which myths and 
narratives are cultivated by media research, and how do prevalent 
concepts, eligible methods and accessible sources shape and foster 
certain understandings of problematic populism or romanticized counter- 
publics and civic engagement?

Abstracts of 500 words proposing empirical case studies as well as 
theoretical or methodological contributions should be submitted no later 
than 30 April 2019. Proposals for full panels (comprising 4 or 5 papers) 
are also welcome: these should include a 250-word abstract for each 
individual presentation, and a 300-word rationale for the panel. Send 
abstracts to: (cohecrea2019 /at/ yahoo.com) <mailto:(cohecrea2019 /at/ yahoo.com)>. 
Authors will be informed regarding acceptance/rejection for the 
conference no later than 15 June 2019. Early career scholars and 
graduate students are highly encouraged to submit their work. Please 
indicate if the research submitted is part of your thesis or 
dissertation project. The organizers will aim to arrange for discussants 
to provide an intensive response for graduate students projects.

The conference registration fee will be 150 euros (110 euros Ph.D. and 
M.A. students) and participants will be asked to cover their own travel 
expenses. This fee includes two lunches and one conference dinner.

For more information on the workshop please visit:

https://www.oeaw.ac.at/cmc/detail/event/ecrea-communication-history-section-workshop- 
2019/

Local organizer:
Josef Seethaler, (josef.seethaler /at/ oeaw.ac.at) 
<mailto:(josef.seethaler /at/ oeaw.ac.at)>
Institute for Comparative Media and Communication Studies (CMC) Austrian 
Academy of Sciences

For the section management team:
Gabriele Balbi, (gabriele.balbi /at/ usi.ch) <mailto:(gabriele.balbi /at/ usi.ch)>
Institute of Media and Journalism
USI Università della Svizzera italiana (Switzerland)

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