The intensifying effects of polarised populisms : opposed Islamist and Bourguibist discourses in post-revolutionary Tunisia
Abstract
Populism has often been considered to thrive on polarisation. By identifying a ‘people’ and an ‘elite’, populist political actors encourage a dichotomy between self and other; further, placing political opponents outside the lines of normative national identity promotes a praxis discouraging compromise and indicting those who seek to understand the other. At the same time, populists come to prominence during times of grievance. The simplified discourses they espouse offer culprits and straightforward explanations for disillusioned citizens. What occurs when two polarised populists advance narratives addressing similar grievances? In this article, I engage in a frame analysis of the discourses advanced by Tunisian populist actors from 2019-2021: Itilaf al-Karama and the Parti Destourien Libre, who fall on opposing ends of the Islamist-secularist spectrum. I argue that these two populisms have an intensifying effect upon polarisation by substantiating the threat discourses advanced by their opposition.
Citation
Murphey , H L 2023 , ' The intensifying effects of polarised populisms : opposed Islamist and Bourguibist discourses in post-revolutionary Tunisia ' , The Journal of North African Studies , vol. 28 , no. 5 , pp. 1104-1123 . https://doi.org/10.1080/13629387.2023.2183388
Publication
The Journal of North African Studies
Status
Peer reviewed
ISSN
1362-9387Type
Journal article
Rights
Copyright © 2023 The Author(s). Published by Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor & Francis GroupThis is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in anymedium, provided the original work is properly cited.
Description
Funding: Carnegie Trust for the Universities of Scotland.Collections
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