(Re)Framing Populism Across the Political Spectrum: Insights from an Emerging Movement

• In Event: Marxist Sociology Section Roundtables
  In Refereed Roundtable (90 minute): Marxist Sociology Section Roundtable 3

Abstract

My study explores how framing redefines the political and cultural meaning of discourse. Specifically, the project examines how an emergent social movement borrows from and challenges existing populist symbolism to mobilize supporters from opposing ends of the political spectrum. While much research addresses populist movements, most still fit some variation of prevailing left/right binary. Movements that defy this categorization offer a window into how discourse is remade through processes like framing.

The imagery evoked by the phrase “MAGA” is powerful and enduring. This symbolic power made MAGA an effective tool for mobilization, yet its meaning is diverse and often contradictory. MAGAism can signify law and order and insurrection; hyper-patriotism and foreign infiltration; state capitalism and free-market neoliberalism; establishment and outsider; authoritarian and libertarian; and, remarkably, communism. A MAGA Communist movement is intellectually provocative for the same reason it requires study: it defies our expectations of what political movements should look like. The case of MAGA Communism invites exploration into how movement participants actively construct novel frameworks of meaning.

I use a multi-method qualitative design, combining social media content analysis, semi-structured interviews, and ethnographic observation. I have collected and begun analyzing approximately 3,000 Twitter/X posts and 40 YouTube videos from ACP-affiliated accounts. I use an abductive approach, iteratively analyzing social media data to identify diagnostic, prognostic, and motivational frames as part of public-facing discourse. This first phase will inform the next step: thirty in-depth interviews with ACP supporters and dissenters. (Digital) ethnography of livestreams and, if feasible, in-person ACP events will complement these data, providing insight into framing practices across public and private contexts.

Author

• Levi Mitzen, Florida State University