Verlag der Österreichischen Akademie der Wissenschaften

Abstract:
In recent times, right-wing parties and movements have increasingly been using (geo-)social media to communicate their political aims. Examples are the ‘Einzelfall-Map’ or earlier maps that were designed to show refugee infrastructure but doubled for use in planning attacks on refugees. A closer inspection of these maps shows the use of simplified and generalized language, disrespect for the rule of law and human rights, and xenophobic metaphorical language. While these characteristics are used not only by right-wing movements (they can also be identified in left-wing anti-globalization discourse), right-wing movements tend to use spatial language more often than other political tendencies. This paper analyses language used by rightwing populists in maps that are based on volunteered geographic information – as for example in the ‘Einzelfall-Map’. The analysis of the contents of the map, based on the ‘syndrome approach’, presents the various discourses that circulate around the topic ‘right-wing populism’. This analysis contributes to the development of teaching strategies that unearth the explicitly geographic language used by populist ideologies.