What’s Past Is Pro-regime Prologue: History Videos in Authoritarian Legitimation

• In Event: Autocratic Dynamism and Democratic Backsliding in MENA

Abstract

Populist authoritarians face a paradox. Recent scholarship emphasizes populists’ use of nostalgic rhetoric in their attempts to win votes. But how can populist incumbents justify their repressive rule when the golden age they promised remains unrealized? The heavy focus on rhetoric-based approaches in studies of populist brands of authoritarianism overlooks a strategy particularly well-suited for positioning these elites as rightful and necessary leaders. In this paper, we (audio)visualize the authoritarian toolkit to demonstrate how historically-themed, regime-produced videos offer an attractive and efficient legitimation tool. We unpack the cognitive and affective storytelling characteristics of audiovisual content that can communicate information-dense, emotionally evocative messages showcasing the appropriateness and necessity of the incumbent’s rule, even – indeed, especially – in times of crisis. Applying qualitative and quantitative content analysis to an original dataset of over 5000 videos released by government institutions under Turkey’s ruling AKP, we argue regimes use audiovisual curation of historical events and figures to disseminate Great Strength Great Threat narratives. These seemingly contradictory narratives portray historical legacies of glory, peril, and sacrifice among a designated Ingroup and position the incumbent as 1) rightful inheritor of those legacies, 2) strong performer, and 3) vital guarantor against internal and external threats. Our mixed methods, multimodal approach fills a gap in studies of the authoritarian toolkit while adding to political scientists’ toolkits for analyzing regime strategies more broadly.

Authors

• Lisel S. Hintz, Johns Hopkins University SAIS

• Jonas Bergan Draege, Oslo New University College