It’s social media, stupid! A study of the narrative and discursive elements of Argentinian libertarians on Twitter.
Session Title
Social Media, Online Spaces and Literature
Faculty Mentor
Michael Lipscomb, Ph.D. and Jennifer Leigh Disney, Ph.D.
College
College of Arts and Sciences
Department
Political Science
Abstract
While Argentinian politics have earned a reputation for being unpredictable, convoluted, and chaotic, few case studies can exemplify better the ever-changing nature of this political system than the rise to prominence of the libertarian movement. Libertarians went from being virtually non-existent as a political movement in 2019 to holding 5 congressional seats in 2021 and having a very solid chance of winning the presidential upcoming presidential election. This staggering growth is unrivaled in Argentine political history, which makes it a great opportunity to study the rhetoric and narrative elements that have drawn support to the libertarians. For this reason, I performed a qualitative analysis of the 500 most retweeted tweets of Javier Milei (the face of the Libertarian movement in Argentina) during the 6 months preceding the legislative election in November of 2021 so as to understand what elements of his rhetoric are the ones that have resonated the most with the Argentinian population. I chose the period leading to the 2021 election because it was a turning point for libertarians as it granted them congressional representation, which solidified them as a serious political force. Furthermore, my hypothesis is that the rhetoric used by Milei in his tweets includes a strong emphasis on economics, the widespread use of rude and pejorative language to address his detractors, the promotion of a clear dichotomy between him and what he calls the “political cast,” and sharing and promoting topics that are controversial in nature in order to obtain more media attention and relevance.
Course Assignment
PLSC 490 – Lipscomb
Previously Presented/Performed?
Winthrop University Showcase of Undergraduate Research and Creative Endeavors, Rock Hill, SC, April 2023.
Type of Presentation
Oral presentation
Start Date
15-4-2023 12:00 PM
It’s social media, stupid! A study of the narrative and discursive elements of Argentinian libertarians on Twitter.
While Argentinian politics have earned a reputation for being unpredictable, convoluted, and chaotic, few case studies can exemplify better the ever-changing nature of this political system than the rise to prominence of the libertarian movement. Libertarians went from being virtually non-existent as a political movement in 2019 to holding 5 congressional seats in 2021 and having a very solid chance of winning the presidential upcoming presidential election. This staggering growth is unrivaled in Argentine political history, which makes it a great opportunity to study the rhetoric and narrative elements that have drawn support to the libertarians. For this reason, I performed a qualitative analysis of the 500 most retweeted tweets of Javier Milei (the face of the Libertarian movement in Argentina) during the 6 months preceding the legislative election in November of 2021 so as to understand what elements of his rhetoric are the ones that have resonated the most with the Argentinian population. I chose the period leading to the 2021 election because it was a turning point for libertarians as it granted them congressional representation, which solidified them as a serious political force. Furthermore, my hypothesis is that the rhetoric used by Milei in his tweets includes a strong emphasis on economics, the widespread use of rude and pejorative language to address his detractors, the promotion of a clear dichotomy between him and what he calls the “political cast,” and sharing and promoting topics that are controversial in nature in order to obtain more media attention and relevance.
