This thesis examines how Baby Boomers utilize Facebook to promote radical political ideology. A convenience sample of 51 Baby Boomer Facebook profiles were selected and critically analyzed for radical content using Bernard L.Brock’s (1965) A Definition of Four Political Positions and a Description of their Rhetorical Characteristics, and Making Sense of Political Ideology: The Language of Democracy (Brock, et al., 2005). The rhetoric from these profiles was then categorized using James W. Chesebro’s (1972) Rhetorical Strategies of the Radical Revolutionary. Conclusions from the research indicate that radical Boomers on Facebook seem to have moved from real world activism to symbolic action on Facebook through the liking and sharing of radical articles and posts. Though consistent in posting radical content in their profiles, radical Boomers using Facebook in this study utilized profiles more to promote radical culture online than to foment political revolution offline. / Department of Telecommunications

This study examines the extreme right wing political tendency in Great Britain during the interwar years and particularly its relationship to technological modernity. The far right has been much misunderstood and under-researched, often seen as part of "Appeasement Conservatism" and as a group of out-dated elites inhibiting Britain's modernization. In fact, this study suggests, the extreme right was distinct from Tory Conservatism and promoted its own (exclusionary and objectionable) paradigm of modernism. In its policies, rhetoric, and practices, the far right, above all, advocated a technically modernized Britain. Only such a modernized state, they believed, (in terms of industrial and military strength), could take its place in the new generation of Great Powers in a predatory and chaotic world. Extreme right leaders were convinced that Britain must insulate itself from such economic and political chaos by preserving its Empire, creating an autarkic economy, eliminating "foreign elements" at home, and by creating a lethal modern defense. For Britain to accomplish these objectives, it would have to master and apply modern science and technology on a national scale. For Britain to maintain (or re-assert) its former world leadership, said the far right, it had to become a "Great Technological Nation." Members of Britain's extreme right were especially influenced by the fascist dictatorships - their crushing of Marxism, their supposed elimination of class war, and especially their apparent accomplishments of modernization. A disproportionate number of British fascists and fascist supporters were key members of Britain's industrial and high-tech. elite. As they praised the dictatorships and attacked Britain's liberal-democratic system, they used issues of national modernization (aviation, modern highways, radio communications, military mechanization) as a key battlefield for political debate. In such debates they routinely positioned their own tendency as the best hope for progress against the supposed irrationality of the left and the alleged ineptitude of professional politicians created by democracy.

Zugl.: Berlin, Techn. Univ., Diss., 2005 u.d.T.: Borrmann, Stefan: Wissenschaftlich begründete Leitlinien für die Praxis sozialer Arbeit

Honors Project--Smith College, Northampton, Mass., 2009. / Includes bibliographical references (p. 30-32).

Thesis (Ph. D.)--Universität München, 1998. / Vita. Includes bibliographical references (p. 211-225).

No description available.

The Internet and social media have significantly affected democracies around the world. Yet, little is known about their direct impact on political elites. My dissertation posits that the expansion of the internet and social media has increased elite ideological extremism through two channels: i) A growth in voter radicalism, affecting politicians who respond to their constituencies, and ii) a higher reward to extreme politicians on social media. In particular, politicians' higher exposure to a very politicized set of voters and the positive reception of their negative messages on social media results in an increase in their ideological extremism. I test these hypotheses in Chile, conducting four types of analyses. I start by characterizing the profile of the social media and Facebook users in Chile at different periods, corroborating that they are people with sharper ideological preferences than the rest of the voters. Then, I examine whether Chilean members of the Chamber of Deputies pay more attention to Facebook when an increasing share of their constituencies have access to 3G mobile internet. Empirically, I estimate a two-way fixed effect model, regressing measures of Facebook activity ---likes, shares, and total interactions--- on 3G mobile internet coverage using a panel data of Chilean legislators. Here, I found a substantive effect of 3G mobile internet on Facebook activity among politicians, implying that when citizens have more access to the internet, legislators spend much more time interacting on Facebook. Moreover, I analyze if either district-level access to the internet or large levels of Facebook activity enhances the level of ideological extremism among political elites. The use of behavioral outcomes outside the digital world is crucial to understanding the impact of social media on democracies, as such outcomes can have real-world consequences. I decided to use roll-call voting data from the Chilean congress, which allowed me to generate a measure of ideological extremism on the left-right scale. I regressed the measure on several measures of Facebook activity and/or 3G coverage, using two-way fixed effects models and an instrumental variable specification, leveraging the variation in 3G mobile internet as an instrument. In these analyses, I consistently found that higher levels of Facebook interactions increase ideological extremism among Chilean politicians, especially in the initial years of Facebook penetration. This dissertation contributes to the literature in three ways. First, it is one of the few academic endeavors investigating how social media affect political elites in domains outside the digital world. Second, this work speaks to the old discussion about whether politicians lead or follow the public, in this case, regarding extremism. My results show an elite-driven move to extremism due to exposure to social media, regardless of the position of voters. Third, this analysis contributes to the understanding of polarization and democratic backsliding in the global south. Indeed, in the last years, Latin American countries such as Colombia, Peru, Brazil, and Chile have experienced increasing levels of elite polarization, as evidenced by the type of candidates disputing the presidential elections. Social media penetration is a plausible driving force behind this phenomenon, as it encourages politicians to spend time chasing "likes," which, as I demonstrate, could eventually have consequences for the functioning of democracy.

No description available.

Three models are developed to analyze the state level conditions fostering the rise of far right parties in the European Union in the last two decades. The political background of these parties is examined. This study offers a definition for far right parties, which combines several previous attempts. The research has focused on the effects of the number of the parties, immigration, and unemployment on support for the far right in Europe. Empirical tests, using a random effects model of fifty elections in eight nations, suggest that there are political, social, and economic conditions that are conducive to electoral success. Specifically, increases in the number of "effective" parties favor the far right, while electoral thresholds serve to dampen support. Immigration proves to be a significant variable. Surprisingly, changes in crime and unemployment rates have a negative effect on support for the far right. Suggestions for future research are offered.

This thesis examines Bitzer's model of the rhetorical situation by using it, in combination with elements of Bormann's fantasy theme analysis to perform a criticism of radical right rhetoric. First, it identifies the exigencies that give rise to the sovereignty rhetoric employed by members of the radical right. This analysis then determines whether the speech meets the needs of its intended audience. To accomplish this task, two websites are analyzed: the Posse Comitatus/Christian Identity website and that of the Republic of Texas, a secessionist, common law/sovereign citizen's site. These websites claim to be the official websites of the two organizations. The analysis is a generative analysis, combining Bitzer's model of rhetorical situation with aspects of Bormann's fantasy theme analysis. Through performing the analysis, weaknesses and areas for improvement in Bitzer's model will be identified.Sovereignty and common law rhetoric comes in many variations, but all revolve around a central principle - that there are two classes of citizenship. United States citizenship is conferred by the Fourteenth Amendment and is accepted by participation in programs such as social security (Nagle, 1996). This form of citizenship is subject to extensive regulation and taxation. However, sovereignty rhetoric focuses on state citizenship. This type of citizenship is conferred by common law and can be recaptured by rejecting U.S. citizenship. Advocates of sovereignty argue that state citizens are not subject to most federal laws and cannot be taxed by the federal government.Why study common law/sovereign citizen rhetoric? There is broad crosspollination among extremist groups, and sovereignty rhetoric is a consistent theme for many of these groups (Shapiro, 1995). For example, individuals convicted of abortion bombings have had militia ties, and tax protestors attend preparedness expos' (Tharp & Holstein, 1997). Likewise, events such as the death of Randy Weaver's wife in the 1992 Ruby Ridge standoff, and the 1993 Branch Davidian fire are cited by extremists of numerous ideologies as evidence of a government conspiracy (Dyer, 1997).2 Furthermore, for every camouflage-clothed militia member, there are several amateur attorneys studying old law books, the Constitution and each other's websites in an effort to unravel the meaning of the "true" Constitution (Abanes, 1996).The Posse Comitatus and Republic of Texas websites are useful artifacts because they are clear examples of the types of rhetoric addressed in this study. The present incarnation of the Posse Comitatus merges Posse Comitatus and Christian Identity rhetoric, allowing exploration of the common law rhetoric of both groups through one website. While claiming not to be a militia website, the Republic ofI Preparedness expos offer survivalist training and equipment, firearms, ammunition and common law materials (Tharp & Holstein).Extremists are particularly fascinated by the date April 19, a date on which events ranging from the Revolutionary War to the Branch Davidian fire took place (Stern). In some circles, this date is called Militia Day and has assumed almost religious significance.Texas maintains at least three separate militias and features extensive discussions of common law and sovereign citizen rhetoric.To understand these groups, it is necessary to understand the exigencies that brought them into existence. Bitzer's model of rhetorical situation, with its focus on exigencies, is an excellent tool for understanding the social and economic factors contributing to the growth of these types of groups. However, Bitzer offers only limited insight into how the messages are spread and why people accept them. Bormann's fantasy theme method of analysis helps answer the questions of how the sovereignty/common law message satisfies the rhetorical and psychological needs of the group members. / Department of Communication Studies