The reproduction of fear in populist discourse: an analysis of campaign speeches by the Justice and Development Party elites

Abstract

This paper scrutinizes the reproduction of fear in the populist discourse of the Justice and Development Party and provides a content analysis of campaign speeches between 2015 and 2018. We posit that the linkage between populism and fear derives from two frames, victimization and blaming, appealing to perceived threat and insecurity that deepens the construction of ‘us-vs-them’ group differentiation. We argue that the AKP’s campaign in the 2015 elections frames security, value, and competing narratives by emphasizing terrorism, clashes with the ‘others’, and the opposition’s lack of capacity to rule. Their campaign in the 2017 referendum articulates a crisis and issue-based narrative over the coup attempt and constitutional amendments, and the 2018 campaign featured an issue, value, and security-based narrative. The findings show various continuities and changes in the AKP narratives based on exploiting citizens’ threat perceptions, with broad fear-based narratives remaining constant while the specifics of the threat adapt to the political atmosphere of the time.