Elite Framing and the Vilification of Dissent in Authoritarian Settings

• In Event: 474 - Section on Collective Behavior and Social Movements Refereed Roundtable Session and Business Meeting
  In Refereed Roundtable 60min: Table 03. Discourse, Framing, and the State

Abstract

Extant research on framing has contributed significant insights into the production and deployment of collective action frames, yet surprisingly little attention has been devoted to elite framing processes. This gap in the literature is significant because the successful deployment of state official frames can bolster regime legitimacy, particularly in cases of repression and human rights violations. Moreover, the successful deployment of derogatory frames by state elites can fuel animosity and influence the repressive measures used against citizens. We examine elite framing processes in a case of popular resistance to a 1953 currency reform in Czechoslovakia. The state used excessive force to repress the uprising, yet it faced a paradoxical dilemma regarding its own legitimacy: how could the state officials explain the proletariat rising up against its own worker state? Drawing from over 6,000 of archival materials from state officials, we examine the evolution of the state’s framing of the event and the impacts that framing had on punishment outcomes. Results indicate that elite framing of the event changed in the weeks following the protests, resulting in citizens being re-labeled as state enemies. Findings show clear linkages between elite framing and harsh forms of traditional legal and extrajudicial persecution. This research has important implications for understanding how elite framing processes can legitimate state interests and influence repression.

Authors

• Thomas E. Shriver, North Carolina State University

• Laura Bray, North Carolina State University

• Alison E. Adams, University of Florida