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Fear of a brown planet: the 'Trump effect', right-wing populism, and Islamophobia in Australia

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posted on 2022-03-28, 20:54 authored by Zahrah N. Sahib
This thesis will argue how the explicit Islamophobic stance Donald Trump embodied during 2016-17, influenced a resurgence of right-wing populism in Australia. Amidst a global environment, characterised by notions of insecurity, Trump emerged victorious in his bid to win the 45th United States Presidency. His presidential claim to fame centered on a populist premise of 'Making America Great Again' through mobilising the disenfranchised white fringes of US society. The superpower's legitimisation of a nationalistic driven rhetoric presents a thriving area of interest within academia, specifically in localising the 'Trump effect' in the Australian context and examining its impact on Australian politicians and the media. The significance of my research project lies in the complexity of analysing the domestic media and political spheres, portraying a homogenous threatening perspective of the Othered identity, personified by Australian Muslims. However, this is not a novel concept. Previous research into Australia's settler-colonialist history reveals an embedded legacy premised upon systematically oppressing and demonising Indigenous and non-white bodies. In these deviations from the white majority, racialised manifestations of Islamophobia are justified: a public perception of the Muslim body as a sole aggressor in an otherwise peaceful world is reinforced through ethnocentric schemas advocated by those with political power. Regarding the 'Trump effect' that is characterised by an overwhelming Islamophobic sentiment prevailing throughout the West, the thesis will analyse key public addresses recorded during Trump's pre-presidential and post-inauguration campaigns. Through a Foucauldian discourse and visual cultural analysis, the effects of his Islamophobic representations of Islam and Muslims are compared with the rhetoric of the Australian political and media spheres. As such, iterations of the transnational nature of the 'Trump effect' are best exemplified through the controversial personalities of Pauline Hanson and Cory Bernardi. In concluding, my thesis evidences how Trump's position of power institutionalised a divisive rhetoric that normalised race hatred and hate speech in an unprecedented way. Therefore, the Australian populist response was legitimated in its overt adaptation of the 'Trump effect'.

History

Table of Contents

Introduction: Literature review + methodology -- Chapter One: Leader of the Pack -- Chapter Two: Celebrity in Chief -- Conclusion: Weapons of Mass Destruction -- References.

Notes

Theoretical thesis. Bibliography: pages 63-82

Awarding Institution

Macquarie University

Degree Type

Thesis MRes

Degree

MRes, Macquarie University, Faculty of Arts, Department of Media, Music, Communication and Cultural Studies

Department, Centre or School

Department of Media, Music, Communication and Cultural Studies

Year of Award

2018

Principal Supervisor

Joseph Pugliese

Rights

Copyright Zahrah N. Sahib 2018. Copyright disclaimer: http://mq.edu.au/library/copyright

Language

English

Extent

1 online resource ( 82 pages)

Former Identifiers

mq:71083 http://hdl.handle.net/1959.14/1270687