Publication details
Scaring for the greater good? Discursive construction of fear appeals in the brexit referendum campaign
| Authors | |
|---|---|
| Year of publication | 2025 |
| Type | Article in Periodical |
| Magazine / Source | British Politics |
| MU Faculty or unit | |
| Citation | |
| web | https://link.springer.com/article/10.1057/s41293-024-00267-0 |
| Doi | https://doi.org/10.1057/s41293-024-00267-0 |
| Keywords | Project fear; Fear appeals; Brexit; Referendum campaign; Remain; Content analysis; Discourse-historical approach |
| Attached files | |
| Description | This article deals with fear appeals in the Remain campaign during the 2016 Brexit referendum, as a prime case of exploitation of anticipative fear in political campaigning. It explores the topic uniquely through the discursive lens, highlighting the need for a more nuanced reading of fear-based discourse in the Remain campaign beyond the broad-brush image often offered in the extant literature. It identifies the patterns of the discursive construction of fear appeals by analysing and interpreting both its macro-discoursal and micro-linguistic content and strategies. To do so, the inquiry works with a dataset of public addresses by nine leading Remain campaigners (Cameron, Osborne, Hammond, May, Truss, Corbyn, Alan Johnson, Sturgeon and Clegg) and employs a mixed-methods approach, combining systematic qualitative content analysis with the discourse-historical approach to critical discourse analysis. At the same time, the article has a broader relevance beyond the Brexit case. Fear-based discourse continues to persist (especially in the context of Covid-19 pandemic or climate change). Consequently, the study also critically discusses the practical implications of political elite-driven fear messaging. |
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