Presidential speeches and the online politics of belonging : Affective-discursive positions toward refugees in Finland and Estonia
Ojala, M., Kaasik-Krogerus, S., & Pantti, M. (2019). Presidential speeches and the online politics of belonging : Affective-discursive positions toward refugees in Finland and Estonia. European Journal of Cultural Studies, 22(2), 164-179. https://doi.org/10.1177/1367549418823059
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European Journal of Cultural StudiesDate
2019Discipline
Nykykulttuurin tutkimusHyvinvoinnin tutkimuksen yhteisöContemporary CultureSchool of WellbeingCopyright
© The Authors 2019
The so-called ‘refugee crisis’ has added urgency to the social dynamics of inclusion and exclusion in European societies. This study explores how emotions figure in this politics of belonging by studying their discursive mobilization in Finnish and Estonian public debates on asylum seekers. Focusing on presidential speeches addressing the refugee issue, on the one hand, and their reception by online commenters on popular tabloid news sites, on the other, the comparative analysis highlights both similarities and differences in how emotional expressions are employed in these two countries with very different experiences of taking refugees. Despite employing common discursive elements in their speeches, the diverging national contexts prompted the two presidents to emphasize contrasting emotional positions: the insecure Finn, threatened by abusive asylum seekers, and the compassionate Estonian, capable of identifying with the plight of refugees. In contrast, the reactions to speeches by Finnish and Estonian citizens on tabloid news sites demonstrated highly converging emotional positions. Online comments in both countries revealed deep anger and distrust of political elites among tabloid news audiences, articulating a complex relationship with the nation as a divided and exclusive political community.
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Sage Publications Ltd.ISSN Search the Publication Forum
1367-5494Keywords
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The content of the publication reflects only the author’s view. The funder is not responsible for any use that may be made of the information it contains.
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The author(s) disclosed receipt of the following financial support for the research, authorship, and/ or publication of this article: Research for this article has been supported by the Helsingin Sanomat Foundation and the European Research Council’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation program, Grant 636177 (EUROHERIT).License
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