Populist Visual Communication: A State-of-the-Art Review

Abstract

Even though populism is arguably one of the most researched topics in contemporary political science, the study of its communication is disproportionately focused on its verbal and written dimensions. In recent years, an increasing number of studies have explored its visual dimension, highlighting its importance in the process of meaning-construction and the interaction between political actors and citizens. In this state-of-the art review, we discuss the importance of analysing visual communication and how it relates to the main approaches to the study of populism. Then, we outline the main works conducted on the visual politics of populism and suggest some potential directions for future research. The review reveals that existing research has primarily focused on the content of visual populism, highlighting, in particular, the role of images in constructing ‘the people’, ‘the enemy’ and in depicting populist leaders as ordinary yet exceptional figures. More research is needed on how images are produced and who receives and interpret them. Beyond content analysis, future research should adopt a broader range of methodological tools to fully explore populist visual communication.