From Populism to Personalization: Visual Narratives and Identity Construction in Global Political Campaigns

Most research isolates visual self-branding (Gakahu, 2024) or rhetorical populism (Adhira, 2024) as separate communication strategies. This idea proposes a comparative, cross-national study that blends social semiotic analysis of campaign imagery with content analysis of populist discourse. By examining how politicians in different countries (e.g., Kenya, Indonesia, US) combine or separate visual and textual strategies to construct authenticity, inclusivity, or anti-elitist appeals, the research would illuminate which combinations are most resonant with different publics. This synthesis could reveal underappreciated nuances in how personalization and populism interact with local cultural codes and platform affordances, suggesting new directions for understanding global variations in digital political communication.

References:

1. Image-centrism in Africa’s political communication: a social semiotic analysis of self-presentation practices by women political candidates in Kenya’s social media space. Nancy Gakahu (2024). Information, Communication & Society.
2. Populist Communication on Social Media (A Review of the Political Communication of the 2024 Presidential and Vice Presidential Candidates). Putri Adhira (2024). Social Impact Journal.