This book offers a novel, grounded-theory approach to the study of online comments about Donald Trump and the USA in countries with a turbulent relation with America: China, Mexico and Russia.
Slavtcheva-Petkova advocates for a departure from Jürgen Habermas’s public sphere and democratic deliberative framework, introducing instead the concept of post-deliberative public spheres. The book provides a qualitative thematic analysis via the constant comparison method, coupled with quantitate content analysis of more than 2200 social media comments posted from Trump’s election in 2016 until July 2020. Three empirical chapters are devoted to the countries under study, showing how it is possible to map the comments onto a spectrum of authoritarianism/censored media to democracy/free media. Slavtcheva-Petkova argues that existence and strength of an underpinning ideology and the scope that ideology leaves for constructive political discussions online is of key importance, exploring themes such as identity, patriotism and populism; democracy; power and responsibility.
Timely and innovative, ‘Trump’s America Online’ astutely displays how post-deliberative public spheres are valuable spaces for political talk despite the challenges they face across the globe.
Author(s): Vera Slavtcheva-Petkova
Publisher: Palgrave Macmillan
Year: 2023
Language: English
Pages: 249
City: Cham
Acknowledgments
Contents
List of Graphs
Part I: Conceptualizing Online Comments from a Global Perspective
Chapter 1: Introduction
Why China, Mexico, and Russia?
Research Questions and Contributions of the Study
Structure of the Book
Bibliography
Chapter 2: Post-Deliberative Public Spheres: Beyond Democratic Deliberation and the Public Sphere Framework
Democratic Deliberation and the Public Sphere Framework
Moving Away from Habermas: Key Reasons and Alternative Frameworks
Conceptualizing Online Discussions Beyond the Established Democracies of the Global North
Post-Deliberative Public Sphere(s)
Bibliography
Chapter 3: Studying Global Online Discussions: A Grounded Theory Approach
Grounded Theory and Methods
Sampling and Measures
Measures
Contextual Peculiarities
Why Trump and the USA—Concluding Remarks
Bibliography
Part II: Global Virtual Discussions About Trump and the USA
Chapter 4: Online Comments About Trump and the USA in China
Key Themes
Blind/Zealous Patriotism Versus Motivated/Rationalized Patriotism
Blind/Zealous Patriotism
Emotional Patriotism and the Ancestral Land/Motherland
Putting China First
Fighting and Propaganda Slogans
Motivated/Rationalized Patriotism
“Us”—Chinese Character and Identity
“Them” and the Process of Othering—America as “the Other”
Geopolitics in Flux—The Trade War, Hegemony/Imperialism, and the New World Order
Turning Bad into Good: The “Real” Nature of the Trade War
Turning Bad into Good—China’s Upheaval
Shuffling Cards—China’s Utopian Bright Future and the New World Order
Argumentation, Engagement, and Civility
Patterns of Discussion
Concluding Remarks
Bibliography
Chapter 5: Online Comments About Trump and the USA in Russia
Key Themes
Power, Authority, and Accountability
Power
Authority
Responsibility and Accountability
The Meaning and Significance of Democracy
Defining Democracy
Finding Fault with Democracy
Identity, Friends, and Foes in Politics
Argumentation, Engagement, and Civility
Patterns of Discussion
Concluding Remarks
Bibliography
Chapter 6: Online Comments About Trump and the USA in Mexico
Key Themes
Power and Responsibility
Power—Inter-State Contestations
Power—Intra-State Contestations
Power—Global Contestations
Responsibility—Actors and Actions
Democracy—Meaning and Future
Patriotism, Identity, and Populism
Patriotism
Identity
Populism
Religious and Moral Dimensions
God and Religion
Tolerance
Argumentation, Engagement, and Civility
Patterns of Discussion
Concluding Remarks
Bibliography
Chapter 7: Conclusion
Global Discussions: Differences and Similarities
Post-Deliberative Public Spheres: Main Features
Venues for Future Research
Bibliography
Index
