The Alt-Right, Trump, and Framing Strategy

Home , Rachel Dolezal

MASTER THESIS

2019 PUSHING THE RIGHT BUTTONS: THE ALT-RIGHT, TRUMP, AND FRAMING STRATEGY

Alexander Royall

Leiden University

Student number: s1411209

Faculty of Governance and Global Affairs

Msc. Crisis and Security Management

Supervisor: Dr. J. Vüllers

Second reader: Dr. G.M. van Buuren

January 13, 2019

Words: 23.714

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I would like to thank both Dr. Vüllers and Dr. van Buuren for their guidance, valuable insights, and shown confidence concerning the topic at the beginning and during the project.

My gratitude towards Tim is enormous for showing enthusiasm and going through all of my work and thereby helping me to realise a coherent and grammatically correct thesis.

Thanks to Duaa, Yvonne, Floris, and Jordi for their insights and support.

Last but not least, I want to thank Juliette. Without her I would have fallen in the black hole of Excel and Word and I could not have the figures that I am now so proud of.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

1. INTRODUCTION ...... 5

1.1 FROM THE FRINGES TO THE MAINSTREAM ...... 5

1.2 RESEARCH QUESTION ...... 8

1.3 ACADEMIC RELEVANCE ...... 9

1.4 SOCIETAL RELEVANCE ...... 9

1.5 READERS GUIDE ...... 10

2. LITERATURE REVIEW ...... 12

3. THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK ...... 16

3.1 POLITICAL OPPORTUNITY STRUCTURES ...... 16

3.2 THEORY OF FRAMING ...... 19

3.3 PROSPECT THEORY ...... 21

3.4 THEORY AND HYPOTHESIS ...... 26

4. METHODOLOGY ...... 30

4.1 CASE ...... 30

4.1.1. CASE | DESIGN ...... 30

4.1.2. CASE | SELECTION ...... 31

4.2 DATA COLLECTION ...... 31

4.2.1. DATA COLLECTION | UNIVERSE ...... 32

4.2.2. DATA COLLECTION | SOURCES ...... 34

4.3 RESEARCH METHOD ...... 35

4.3.1. RESEARCH METHOD | CONTENT ANALYSIS ...... 35

4.3.2. RESEARCH METHOD | TIME PERIOD ...... 36

4.3.3. RESEARCH METHOD | OPERATIONALISATION ...... 37

4.4 VALIDITY AND RELIABILITY ...... 43

5. ANALYSIS ...... 44

5.1 Radix Journal ...... 44

5.1.1. 2014 December ...... 44

5.1.2. 2015 May 14 – June 14 & June 15 - July 14 ...... 46

5.1.3. 2016 October 8 – November 8 & November 9 – December 8 ...... 49

5.2 The Daily Stormer ...... 52

5.2.1. 2014 December ...... 52

5.2.2 2015 May 14 – June 14 & June 15 - July 14 ...... 54

5.2.3. 2016 October 8 – November 8 & November 9 - December 8 ...... 57

5.3 INTERPRETATION ...... 60

6. CONCLUSION ...... 65

6.1 ANSWERING THE RESEARCH QUESTION ...... 65

6.2 LIMITATIONS AND FURTHER RESEARCH ...... 66

APPENDIX 1 | CODEBOOK ...... 72

1. INTRODUCTION

1.1 FROM THE FRINGES TO THE MAINSTREAM

“So as you know, I am a woman of colour. I am the daughter of immigrants. I am a Muslim. I am a feminist. I am a leftist liberal. What I want to ask you is; am I your enemy?” - Journalist and activist Deeyah Khan.

“You are not subjectively my enemy, but what you are promoting will lead to the disappearance of my people and my culture.” Jared Taylor – white nationalist affiliated with the Alt-Right.

(Khan, 2017)

In many ways, it can be argued that the first decade of the 21st century functioned as an incubation period for the far-right movements that we can see today in the United States of America (US). The September 11 attacks in 2003 (9/11) caused high levels of paranoia for everything that was foreign (Franko Aas, 2007; Neiwert, 2017). Self-organised militias started to assemble at the Mexican border, the belief in conspiracy theories intensified, and Iraq was invaded under false pretensions. Nevertheless, Democratic candidate Barack Obama was elected as the new president in 2008. While the liberal and progressive world was in awe of Obama’s political potential as the first African American president in history, for the far-right community this development felt like yet another threat (Neiwert, 2017). Not long thereafter a, eventually unsuccessful, counter-movement was established in the form of the Tea Party. In the meantime, society was continuously changing as a result of technological developments. In the early 2010s, social media was one of the main instigators of large protest movements such as the Arab Spring, Occupy, and online Hacker movements (Nagle, 2017). Although most of these protests did not end as intended, they did show the strength and potential of online mobilisation. Whereas movements traditionally have been limited by the available resources in spreading their message, the internet allows groups to spread their message more easily and far and wide (Schafer, 2002). In addition to that notion, the internet offers numerous advantages for far-right extremist movements as it offers a safe area from, and alternative for, the government and popular media outlets, as well as allowing extremist groups to offer social support (ibid).

Against this background, the ‘Alt-Right’, short for alternative right, emerged to become an active far-right movement made up of individuals ready to start agitating people online with high doses of irony and directness, the so-called troll army. A debate developed in 2014 concerning the internal politics of the gaming world and it became the first time that the movement took on its activist form (Neiwert, 2017). Feminist activist Brianna Wu became the foremost recipient of the trolls’ hostile threats and hateful comments on the internet (Neiwert, 2017: 213-215). Neiwert explains that the Gamergate controversy showed the first character traits of the Alt-Right, as he observed an “internet presence beset by digital trolls, unbridled conspiracism, angry-white-male-identity victimization culture, and, ultimately, open racism, anti-Semitism, ethnic hatred, misogyny, and sexual and gender paranoia” (ibid: 215). The increasing dissatisfaction and anger of the far-right following the developments in the early 21st century, combined with the opportunity presented by the internet, gave great potential for a movement such as the Alt-Right to grow significantly. Soon many internet platforms were established in affiliation with the movement, or already existing platforms announced their support of the Alt-Right. More information on all the different platforms and individuals will be discussed in the subchapter on data collection (4.2.1.). For most of its relatively short history, the movement has existed almost entirely online (Wendling, 2018). And although the movement seems to have no real organisational structure (ibid), a closer look at the different actors and platforms does present some influential figures and platforms. These figures and platforms seem to share unifying factors in the broad, somewhat incoherent, ideology of the Alt-Right. The crucial element of the ideology focuses on what is dubbed as the white nationalist ideology which is the idea that white identity is under threat of becoming marginalised or even extinguished as a result of contemporary Western societal ideals such as equality (since the French revolution) and diversity, also referred to as ‘white genocide’ by the group itself (Wendling, 2018; Neiwert, 2017; Heikkilä, 2017; Nagle, 2017). Depending on where you stand within the spectrum of this ideology, the culprit in this narrative is often a Jewish conspiracy. As it is the case in most movements and ideologies, there are individuals who are more or less extreme. Individuals who call themselves part of the Alt-Right movement sometimes have different opinions about issues than other self-claimed Alt-Righters and the levels of extremity in those opinions are equally disparate. The platforms and figures that advocate a more moderate version are dubbed as the Alt-Lite. This study will focus on the more extreme platforms and figures of the Alt-Right (as will be explained in methodology chapter 4).

The idea of white genocide has inspired some individuals to perpetrate domestic terrorist attacks. The most well-known attack was committed by Dylann Roof when he murdered nine people in a black-community church in Charleston in 2015. As he explained in his manifesto written prior to the attack, Roof was inspired by the content of the Council of Conservative Citizens (who’s website posted Jared Taylor’s articles on black on white crime) and the Daily Stormer (see 4.2.1. for more information on this platform) (Neiwert, 2017). Domestic terrorist attacks by right-wing extremists in the US have increased since 2007 and notably reached high numbers between 2012 and 2016 with an average of eleven attacks a year (CSIS, 2018). These numbers increased dramatically in 2017 with 31 attacks in one single year (ibid). Most of the targets were Muslim or Jewish institutions or figures (ibid). Protests organised by Alt-Right platforms also led to violence and one infamously ended with a fatality. The ‘Unite The Right’ rally in Charlottesville in 2017 was aimed against the possible removal of a statue Robert Edward Lee (an American commander who fought for the Confederate states in the Civil War) following a new societal standard set to erase memories of a controversial past, a trend that was viewed as one of the many examples of ongoing white genocide by Alt-Right supporters. The protest turned violent when counter-protesters of the political left gathered in Charlottesville. James Field drove his car into a crowd of counter-protesters killing Heather Heyer. In December 2018, Fields was found guilty of first-degree murder (Reuters, 2018). A more recent example is the terrorist attack committed by Robert Bowers who murdered eleven people in a synagogue in Pittsburgh (Volkskrant, 2018).

As Jared Taylor mentions in the extract above, it is clear that he views the ‘other’, the group Deeyah Khan affiliates herself with, as causing the disappearance of white male identity. It is fair to say that this type of rhetoric has the potential to mobilise individuals with similar concerns and identity. This similar fear of loss was also represented in Roof’s manifesto that he wrote prior to his rampage (Neiwert, 2017). Bower also voiced concerns that the US would eventually be bereft of its white male population, as he posted on a forum prior to his attack that “HIAS [Hebrew Immigrant Aid Society] likes to bring invaders in that kill our people… I can’t sit by and watch my people get slaughtered” (CNN, 2018). This frame of loss is characterised by the emphasis on the idea that action is necessary in order to prevent loss. However, as it will be argued in this study, framing for mobilisation is not necessarily restricted to this frame of loss.

Meanwhile, a successful businessman and television personality took the decision to run for the presidency. Donald Trump announced his candidacy for the Republican primaries on June 14th in 2014. Barkun (2017: 437) noticed that “as his campaign developed, it became clear that he was capable of articulating and representing a whole repertoire of fringe themes”. Fringe in this case being defined as “ideas, beliefs, and organizations that have been ignored, rejected, marginalized, or that have voluntarily separated themselves from the dominant society” (ibid: 437). The extreme right, for the very first time, backed a major party candidate (ibid). Trump’s election campaigns therefore channelled the Alt-Right into the broader political conversation (Heikkilä, 2017). As mentioned earlier, the number of far-right domestic terrorist attacks spiked in 2017. Neiwert (2017: 46) argues that these attacks were influenced “by the Trump campaign… it seemingly gave permission, in its stubborn refusal to bow to ‘political correctness’, for people to act and speak in an openly bigoted way and spiteful fashion… it was as though the campaign lifted the lid off the national id, and the violent, vicious tendencies that had been held in check for years came crawling right out”. Trump’s campaign themes were focused on anti-immigration (mainly of Hispanics and Muslims) and anti-establishment (both the Democratic and Republican parties were targeted) and he preferred to make use of social media for communication with the outside world instead of through traditional media. Trump’s main political promise of building a wall across the border with Mexico was an idea that was first coined by Ann Coulter, a writer and columnist who has a long history of citing far-right extremists and white nationalists in her work (Neiwert, 2017). Richard Spencer, Peter Brimelow, and Jared Taylor are some of those white nationalists and far-right extremists. These men are all affiliated with the Alt-Right movement and Richard Spencer could even be designated as one of the leaders of the movement (see 4.2.1.). In conclusion, the positions that Trump took and the rhetoric he used were seen as indicators for the idea that Trump adhered to the same core ideological drive, that is to prevent the marginalisation of white men. Barkun (2017: 441) thus concludes correctly that “Trump has brought the fringe into the mainstream”.

1.2 RESEARCH QUESTION

Although there seems to be a consensus on the idea that a frame of loss predominates in the communication of a movement in order to mobilise further support, this study questions that theory. An attempt will be made to construct a new theory which takes into account the effect a political opportunity might have on a movement’s frame strategy. Therefore, the question that this study will attempt to answer is: 8

What is the effect of political opportunities on a movement’s framing strategy?

In order to answer the research question, a content analysis of two online Alt-Right platforms, i.e. ‘Radix Journal’ and ‘The Daily Stormer’, will be carried out. The political opportunity that is studied is the political ascendancy of Donald Trump. This will be tested to see whether there is relationship between the independent variable (Trump) and the dependent variable (frame). In addition to a frame of loss, this study will also take into consideration the possibility of a frame of gain.

1.3 ACADEMIC RELEVANCE

One of the pressing questions that social movement theorists attempt to answer is why individuals make the decision to join movements or why individuals radicalise in their ideology and potentially become extreme and choose to engage in violent behaviour. As the next two chapters will illustrate, this discussion is far from being solved and debates continue to present new and/or improved theories. This study will add to that discussion by proposing a possible relationship between two different fields within social movement theory, namely the theories of political opportunity and the theories of framing. In addition, this study also provides some more in-depth insight on the communication methodology of two online platforms affiliated with the Alt-Right, i.e. Radix Journal and The Daily Stormer. The findings of this research might spur further research, more specifically building on the proposed theory in this study. However, it might also build further on some other observations that have been made based on the content analysis performed in this study. More information on this will be provided in ‘interpretation’ subchapter (5.3.) and in the subchapter on ‘limitations and further research’ (6.2.)

1.4 SOCIETAL RELEVANCE

Improving our understanding of how movements frame their messages will help to manage this phenomenon. Although the Alt-Right movement does not explicitly mobilise people to use violence for their cause, practice shows that such a radical ideology can motivate people to act violently. The statistics provided in the above subchapter indicate a trend that is possibly influenced by the mainstreaming of former fringe ideologies such as the one promoted by the Alt-Right. This phenomenon of anti-immigration and aggressiveness towards minorities is not

9 limited to the US, but can identified across the globe. In Europe, the existence and electoral successes of political parties portraying populist views that are aligned with right-wing extremist views indicate that a similar ideology is also gaining ground in Europe (Europol, 2018). The EU Security Commissioner, Julian King, warned for a ‘growing menace’ of violent right-wing extremism (Euractiv, 2017). Meanwhile, Brazil has recently sworn in their new far- right president Jair Bolsonaro who has been shown to share similar characteristics and political opinions as Trump (New York Times, 2018; Wall Street Journal, 2018; Financial Times, 2018).

1.5 READERS GUIDE

This study is structured in six chapters. All of these chapters have subchapters to enable the creation of a clear and structured overview for the reader. This is the first chapter and functions as an introduction to the remainder of this study. The first subchapter outlined the background against which the Alt-Right came into being and provided an explanation of the movement and the relationship it has with Trump. This phenomenon led to the construction of a research question that was presented in the subsequent subchapter. The subchapters 1.3. and 1.4. argued for the academic and societal relevance of answering this research question. The next chapter is the literature review. This chapter will provide the reader with an overview of the literature that has attempted to answer how social movements mobilise support.

Chapter three is the theoretical framework and is divided in subchapters that are aimed at explaining theories on political opportunity structures (3.1.), framing (3.2.), and prospect theory (3.3.). As indicated by the title of this chapter, these three theories will function as the framework to this study’s proposed theory. Subchapter 3.4. will present an interpretation of the aforementioned theories to construct a new theory. The hypothesis that resulted from this theory is presented at the end of this subchapter.

The next chapter will present the methodology of this study in order to test the hypothesis. The first two chapters explain what design is used and why the Alt-Right was selected the case of this study. The following two subchapters will provide insight into the data selection process. The ‘universe’ provides the reader with a more complete picture of all the actors involved in the Alt-Right movement (4.2.1.) and the sources will briefly consider the technical characteristics of the two chosen sources for this study (4.2.2.). This will be followed by an explanation on the research method, i.e. the content analysis (4.3.1.) and the selected time period from which the data will be extracted (4.3.2.). Subchapter 4.3.3. will operationalise the

10 theory and the concepts so that the analysis can be performed in a transparent and systematic matter. The last subchapter, before the analysis is presented, discusses the potential validity and reliability issues.

The analysis is presented in chapter five. It will provide an insight into the content analysis that was performed through the use of quotes and the discussion of the more ambiguous articles that had to be coded. The results of the analysis of Radix Journal (5.1.) and The Daily Stormer (5.2.) will be presented with the main purpose of presenting rather than interpreting. This task is completed in the subchapter ‘interpretation’ (5.3.) in which the results will be interpreted aided by the presentation of graphs.

The final chapter is the conclusion (5) in which the findings of this study will be used to answer the research question. The final subchapter will outline the possible limitations of this study and will discuss some ideas for further research based on this study.

2. LITERATURE REVIEW

In order to clarify where my research stands within the wider academic research on contentious politics, an overview will be presented of the most important work within this field. This will help to focus the position of this research within the literature, but it will also provide insight into how the proposed theory and thereof resulting hypothesis in this research came into being.

Much of the literature will be concerned with the question of how social movements mobilise support. Tarrow (1998: 2) defines politically contentious behaviour as instances where “ordinary people, often in league with more influential citizens, join forces in confrontations with elites, authorities, and opponents”. He adds that not all events of political contentiousness can be termed as social movements, as he limits the social movement definition to only the “sequences of contentious politics that are based on underlying social networks and resonant collective action frames, and which develop the capacity to maintain sustained challenges against powerful opponents” (ibid).1 The problems of mobilising ordinary people to engage in political contentious behaviour will be discussed together with the dominant theories of how these problems could be solved. This will lead to a conclusion regarding the literature and an attempt at creating a refined theory that combines the most convincing theoretical arguments into one stronger one.

When ordinary people join forces and decide to act in favour of a shared goal or against a shared enemy, it is often wondered how this movement came to life. To show that this has been a topic of great interest throughout history, Tarrow (ibid: 10-13) refers to the work of famous theorists such as Karl Marx, Vladimir Lenin, and Antonio Gramsci. Each of them focused on three different elements which would evolve to become the three main theories on contentious collective action in the 20th century. Before Marx’s theory of collective action was commonly accepted, the prevailing explanations for such action was based on the ideas that individuals

1 Although on face-value this might seem as an easy and straightforward definition of a social movement, it is, however, often not as easy as one might hope to identify the underlying social networks and resonant collective action frames. This opaqueness will especially shine through in the more modern and new movements which are predominantly active on the internet. Nevertheless, as the section on the Alt-Right will also help to illustrate, the point will be made that the far-right movement that organised the Charlottesville rally and is affiliated with Donald Trump, is indeed a social movement. Therefore the literature that is discussed here legitimately provides this thesis with relevant insights on mobilisation for the Alt-Right.

12 were largely incapable of structured and direct action in favour of their own interests and collective action was explained as impulsive or manipulated behaviour (Tilly, 1978: 14). Pinard (2011) refers to the work of Gustave LeBon, who had a grim view of the capacity of people as he perceived crowds to be irrational and incapable of thinking properly.

Marx2 and his likeminded contemporaries saw collective action as the logical and destined outcome of the structural development of society. At the same time, hardly any attention was given to the resources that are needed for successful mobilisation. Therefore, Marx’s main problem in his theory was that he failed to convincingly explain why people would not mobilise and revolt, even if the structural conditions should logically motivate them to do so. As Tarrow puts it, “Marx had neither a clear-cut concept of leadership, nor one of working-class culture, and he seriously underspecified the political conditions in which to provide opportunities for revolutionary mobilization” (Tarrow, 1998: 12).

Lenin focused more on this question of leadership and proposed an elite, or vanguard, of revolutionaries that would guide the workers to revolution. It came down to a top-down management and organisation of revolutionary behaviour in favour of the workers and in order to solve the collective action problem that Marx faced. Both Marx and Lenin viewed the workers as being controlled by the state, creating a level of unconsciousness with regard to the workers’ own well-being and need for revolution. Therefore they both look at the situation from a top-down perspective, underestimating the social and political context.

As an Italian, Antonio Gramsci observed that this top-down organisation of revolution was not working in the West. For this reason, Gramsci focused more on the possibility of changing the consciousness of the worker in order to mobilise for revolution, rather than forcing it from a top-down organisational elite. Gramsci envisioned a slow process in which consensus would be built around the party and among the workers, and the capacity thereof would be strengthened. In hindsight, it can be argued that a long-term dialogue leads to the loss of the revolutionary character of the party.

According to Tarrow (ibid: 14), these three theoretical attempts parallel the theorising on collective action in the social movement research of the 20th century. At first, the grievances and collective behaviour theorists saw movements as more spontaneous forms of expression where any social subject could be mobilised due to urges to recompose society, seek a new

2 The paragraphs on the work of Marx, Lenin, and Gramsci are all summarised from Tarrow’s book and the original works have not been read. 13 collective identity, channel their individual deprivation, or to demonstrate societal dysfunctions (ibid). Although these theorists were influenced by the work of, for example, Gustave LeBon, they rejected biases such as the assumption of irrationality and incapability (Pinard, 2011). This focus on the deprivations or grievances of participants as the main explanation for the occurrence of politically contentious collective action was represented by relative deprivation theorists. As Turner and Killian (1987: 242) put it, “the common element in the norms of most, and probably all, movements is the conviction that existing conditions are unjust”. The idea of relative deprivation was elaborated by, amongst others, Ted Robert Gurr. Although Gurr’s models did contain other factors than deprivation, Gurr’s idea that relative deprivation was the “basic precondition for civil strife of any kind” (Gurr, 1968: 1104, as quoted in Pinard, 2011: 9) made it vulnerable for criticism as other factors were deemed to be more important than Gurr’s models proposed.

In the 1960s, microeconomics became the leading element in social sciences and Mancur Olson’s work on rational choice theory in 1965 instigated new thought in social movement theory (ibid; McClurg Mueller, 1992). Olson (1965) observed that, if only the elite of a group would profit from change, the others would not have an incentive strong enough to mobilise, causing the so-called free-rider problem. By recognising this problem, Olson was confronted with essentially the same obstacle that frustrated Marx, Lenin, and Gramsci: how do you get individuals to participate in collective action, even if it appears to be against their own interests? The answer that Olson provided, shaped future theorising on social movements. In order to overcome the free-riding problem, Olson (ibid) argued that an individual must be offered selective incentives strong enough so that the decision for mobilisation is perceived as a rational choice due to the benefit that the individual expects to gains. The leaders of a social movement must therefore convince the people that participation is worth their effort and risk (Tarrow, 1998: 15).

Resource Mobilisation theory (RM) elaborated further on this idea and emphasised the importance of potential resources, such as personal resources, professionalization, and external financial support (McCarthy & Zald, 1977). RM theory is an important contribution to the extent that it highlights the role of the social movement organisation (SMO). This facet corresponds with Lenin’s focus on collective action, as he underlined the importance of a vanguard in achieving mobilisation. Although social movement activity has increasingly moved to the internet and therefore the role of SMOs seems to be undergoing changes, Earl (2015) remains convinced that SMOs are still important actors in explaining social movement activity. 14

Earl (ibid) argues that SMOs remain especially influential in situations such as the organisation of offline events, the sustainment of the longevity of the more longer-term and enduring struggles in order to achieve change, and the creation of more stable networks that promise guaranteed participation. Essentially, RM proposed an answer to the question of how movements could mobilise and took potential resources (personal resources, professionalization, external financial support) as the explanatory variable (Tarrow, 1998).

Although this theory has held a rather dominant position within social movement theory in the decades since the 1970s, it lacks strength in explaining why ordinary people would act contentiously, especially in the cases where movements with low resources mobilised successfully. For that reason, theorising about possible explanations continued and the concept of political opportunity structures was developed.

3. THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK

3.1 POLITICAL OPPORTUNITY STRUCTURES

Some social movement theorists argue that the political opportunity structures determine whether a social movement will be effective or not. The theory of political opportunity structures will be explained in this subchapter.

Eisinger’s (1973) attempt to explain why there were differences across cities in the US in experiencing riots was one of the first studies that referred to the idea of political opportunity structures. Eisinger argued that protests generally do not occur in the case of closed structural conditions, but rather “protest is a sign that the opportunity structure is flexible and vulnerable to the political assaults of excluded groups” (ibid: 28). Therefore, when movements experience an increase in freedom and opportunities to make a change, protest is more likely.

Tarrow (1998) argues that the opportunities or constraints provided by political characteristics determine whether collective action takes place or not. Tarrow defines political opportunities as “consistent – but not necessarily formal, permanent, or national – dimensions of the political struggle that encourage people to engage in contentious politics,” (ibid: 19) and political constraints are defined as “factors – like repression, but also like authorities’ capacity to present a solid front to insurgents – that discourage contention” (ibid: 20).

The word “structure” is not included in this definition, as Tarrow admits that there is “no simple formula for predicting when contentious politics will emerge” (ibid). Rather than a model, Tarrow argues that it is more like a “set of clues for when contentious politics will emerge” (ibid). Tarrow’s set of clues focuses mainly on the idea of political opportunity. The word “political” refers to the idea that the government is the other actor (Tilly, 1978). This actor can loosen or tighten its grip on civil society, making it easier or more complicated to mobilise. The theory of political opportunity is illustrated by Tarrow (1998: 73-76) with the example of the fall of the Soviet Union (USSR). In this case, Mikhael Gorbachev decided that reforms were necessary in order for the USSR to stay alive. Although the reforms were modest changes, it had set things in motion as new organisations were established and it forced political figures to choose sides. As more and more external events and influential allies seemed to appear in favour of change, the elite cracked and weakened along with the state, and it created the space for the revolution and fall of the long-standing Soviet regime.

This example is used by Tarrow (ibid: 77) to explain the importance of perceived external resources, as he argues that an improvement of opportunity is only relevant if this difference is actually perceived by the potential challengers. Not every potential challenger perceives the changed opportunity in this way, which explains the distinction between the early risers and the weaker players, of which the early risers experience deeper grievances and have greater resources than the latter (ibid). Opportunity, or access, increases when elections occur, although this is especially the case in non-democratic states rather than in democratic states as elections are a normal phenomenon in the latter (ibid: 78). However, any instability in political alignments can act as a window of opportunity for potential challengers. This is also shown by the case of the USSR where the political elite quibbled among themselves (ibid: 79). Furthermore, the case of the USSR also showed that having influential allies also determines opportunity and successful mobilisation, an argument that is supported by empirical evidence (Gamson, 1990; Jenkins & Perrow, 1977; Tarrow, 1989a: all mentioned in Tarrow, 1998: 79).

Political opportunity’s key contribution is that “activists’ prospects for advancing particular claims, mobilizing supporters, and affecting influence are context-dependent” (Meyer, 2004: 126). As Meyer mentions, this puts a large burden on analysts as any possible context-related phenomenon could affect the movement in a plethora of ways.

According to Tarrow (ibid: 81-83), generally more stable conditions, state strength and prevailing state strategies can help explain the occurrence of collective action. Centralised states are generally more powerful, especially if they have an inclusive strategy and allow challengers to participate at an institutional level. However, when an opportunity arises in a centralised state with exclusive strategies, it is easier to organise a movement in the face of a common enemy which is the state. Tarrow sees “wars, elections, party realignments, and shifts in public opinion” (ibid: 83) as potential causes for changes in state strength.

Gamson and Meyer (1992: 277) distinguish between fixed aspects of opportunity that are deeply embedded in political institutions and culture on the one hand, and the more volatile, shifting opportunities that “emphasise the interaction between movement strategy and the opening and closing of those oft cited windows of opportunity”. However, Gamson and Meyer (ibid: 278) argue that looking at the fixed aspects of opportunity “are not very helpful in understanding dynamic processes of mobilisation and demobilisation”. Therefore, observing the more changeable and impermanent opportunities should provide more illumination.

These are all rather convincing conditions and to some extent also potential causes for collective action. However, they are predominantly a potential condition for collective action. A political opportunity itself should instead be understood as the creation of favourable circumstances that indicate a higher probability of a political contentious action to occur. It is precisely as it is named, an opportunity. It therefore still fails to comprehensively explain why an individual would or would not join a social movement in taking potential advantage of that opportunity. Gamson and Meyer (1992: 276) explain that “opportunities open the way for political, but movements also make opportunities”. This proposes that there might be a degree of interaction between movements and political opportunities. With this in mind, framing theory might offer a better solution to this conundrum.

3.2 THEORY OF FRAMING

In the end, collective action can only occur if there are people that are convinced to take part in it. Individuals will not simply engage in contentious political action because they have the opportunity to do so. In order to mobilise individuals, they need to have certain convictions concerning the matter in question. SMOs have to bid for the support of individuals. In their research on protest movements, Schussman and Soule (2005) demonstrated that it is important that individuals are asked to participate and that individual circumstances, such as time and responsibility, do matter. This contribution is important for our understanding to the extent that it shows, similar to RM, that the relationship between the organisation and the individual is indicative for explaining mobilisation. It does, however, not explain why the individual would answer in the affirmative to a request for protest. If it is simply necessary for an organisation to ask an individual to participate, we would be underestimating the importance of the content of such a request. The translation of objective grievances into felt grievances does not always occur automatically. An important tool to accomplish subjective grievances is the use of framing. Academics have agreed that movements actively engage in framing grievances into a specific claim (Snow and Benford, 1988; William Gamson, 1992). Therefore, in addition to political opportunity, successful mobilisation would also depend on the “collective action frames that justify, dignify, and animate collective action” (Tarrow, 1998: 21).

The concept of framing was introduced by Goffman (1974), or more specifically the concepts of frameworks, as he made the distinction between natural and social frameworks. This distinction is centred around the idea that events or phenomena are either natural or a guided doing. Snow and Benford (1988) built on Goffman’s work in an attempt to explain what factors determine the resonance of a frame for the mobilisation of a social movement. Framing is explained as a struggle to portray the world ‘out there’ by focusing selectively on certain events or stories and to ignore others. It has been argued that the concept of framing had mostly conceptual utility, but that it was neglecting the provision of “specific tasks that need to be conducted in order to achieve consensus and to produce action” (ibid: 199). In order to be sure that the framing is effective in reaching its goal, which is instigating collective action, it is necessary to know what the best practice is. Three core framing tasks were introduced by Snow and Benford: diagnostic framing, prognostic framing, and motivational framing (ibid). Diagnostic framing concerns the diagnosis, the answer to what is wrong and what needs to be changed. Prognostic framing provides a solution to the diagnosed problem. Motivational framing is meant to stimulate action, the crucial step from disengagement to engagement. In

19 similar fashion, Entman (1993) argues that a frame has four functions, as it defines the problem(s), diagnoses the causes, makes moral judgments, and suggests remedies. Through these functions, framing can “select some aspects of a perceived reality and make them more salient in a communicating text” (ibid: 52). If we take the four dimensions coined by Entman, it should allow us to properly analyse the different frames that are being used by movements.

However, it is still unclear what the best practice of framing is when it comes to the motivational dimension. Chong and Druckman (2007) have established that it is not just simple repetition of a frame that determines its resonance, but it is rather the strength of the frame that can change an individual’s opinion. The strength of a frame should therefore not be underestimated as an indicator for mobilisation. Having said that, what determines the strength of a frame remains a question unanswered, and Chong and Druckman claim that “the source of a strong frame is a problem that has puzzled political scientists and psychologists alike who study mass communication” (ibid: 652, based on O’Keefe, 2002).

One theory that provides a possible answer to the question, is prospect theory. In the next section, this theory will be discussed and critique on that theory will be refuted. The idea of a frame of gain will also be discussed with an empirical example that illustrates the possible relevance of such a frame. Thereupon, the theory is proposed that both political opportunities and the use of framing are important for achieving mobilisation and that the type of political opportunity determines which frame is the strongest.

3.3 PROSPECT THEORY

Kahneman and Tversky’s (1979) main argument is that individuals tend to take more risks when they, from their reference point (the status quo), face a potential loss compared to when they face a potential gain. This theory was developed in the 1970s at a time where expected-utility theory was being increasingly disputed. Whereas the expected utility theory argues that individuals will act when they expect a gain, prospect theory argues that a potential loss weighs heavier in the decision-making process. According to Kahneman and Tversky (ibid), this process is divided into two different phases, the editing phase and the evaluation phase. The individual first identifies what is at stake, i.e. what is the reference point and what are the possible outcomes, and what do they mean with respect to the this reference point (ibid). In the evaluation phase, the individual combines these possible outcomes with their estimated probabilities (ibid). Kahneman and Tversky do not include the idea of framing as the subjectivity and unpredictability of framing would be too ambiguous (Levy, 1996). The focus is merely on the individuals rather than any outside, exogenous influence through, for example, the act of framing. However, this process of identifying the reference point and the possible outcomes takes place in a “dynamic environment that shapes the perception of alternatives” (Masters, 2004: 704). If the individual’s estimate of the reference point and the possible outcomes determine whether this individual will take part in contentious politics, the organisation or leadership of a movement would have a clear focus point in order to increase mobilisation of individuals. An individual’s view of their own reference point and potential outcomes can be steered into a certain direction through the use of framing.

This is a view that is supported by Jeffrey Berejikian, who argues that “if a losses frame is a first necessary condition for revolt, then the initial task for a revolutionary organization is to adopt – or construct – a worldview that effectively communicates to individual peasants the understanding that existing social-structural arrangements are worse than in some “normal” past” (1992: 653). In his article, Berejikian delves into Skocpol’s (1979) structural theory and Popkin’s (1979) rational choice theory, and highlights the flaws in these theories. These are the same observed flaws as the ones that have been mentioned in the previous section. Berejikian (1992: 649) illustrates the free-rider problem through empirical examples provided by Ronald Waterbury on historical instances where the structural conditions for a revolt were sufficient, but where peasants still chose not to act. Berejikian uses prospect theory to explain the different reaction by peasants in two different cases. He points out that the decisive aspect is not necessarily the expected outcome, but it is more about how the outcome relates to the reference

21 point. An important aspect of framing is conveying the message that the status quo, the reference point, is one of continuous loss. As Kahneman and Tversky mention themselves about framing, “the framing effects arise when the same objective alternatives are evaluated in relation to different points of reference” (Kahneman and Tversky, 1982: 165: as quoted in Berejikian, 1992: 652). What this theory means in practice, is that the organisation of a movement would motivate the most individuals and it will be most likely to attain successful collective action if it frames the status quo as a state of deteriorating loss and that this continuation will persist in the face of inaction. The reason for this is that the individual would have to choose between two losses, “not to revolt entails an expected value of increased loss attendant to participation but also some smaller prospects of improvement” (ibid: 653). It is simply a choice between accepting loss, or mitigating loss and having the potential prospect of improvement (back to the actual status quo or even better conditions).

Tarrow (1998: 86-87) has argued that this theory is lacking on three aspects. First of all, he mentions that there are “fairly obvious cases” (ibid: 86) in which individuals joined movements without any promise of gains in status or position or an immediate threat. As an example he mentions the American civil rights movement where individuals of the north in the United States (US) joined the movement in the south, increasing their risk significantly. Secondly, he argues that “gains” and “losses” cannot be objectively defined and observed. His third critique, and according to him his strongest objection, is that prospect theory cannot explain transnational movements as distant issues are perfect examples of a lack of personal loss or gain. His first and third critique are essentially the same, as he questions the explanatory power of prospect theory for movements where, at face value, the direct personal loss and gain is lacking. This critique will be rebuffed using the research on transnational foreign fighters by David Malet.

With regard to the fairly obvious cases that Tarrow refers to, the research of David Malet (2013) can be presented as a counter-argument to that statement. Malet attempted to answer the question of why foreign fighters join insurgencies abroad. A reason why this research is insightful is that, in the specific case of foreign fighters, there seems to be a lack of clear direct losses or gains for the individual foreign fighter. Malet conducted a content analysis to identify the recruitment messages in the propaganda that was meant to mobilise foreign fighters in past insurgencies such as the Texas Revolution (1835-36), the Spanish Civil War (1936-39), The Israeli War of Independence (1947-49), and the Afghanistan War (1978-92). Based on this empirical examination, he claimed that recruiters frame a conflict as if the common transnational identity is under existential threat and that action is required for the survival of 22 this identity (ibid). Borum and Fein (2017) agreed with Malet’s observation and have noted that there is a remarkable degree of historical consistency over time and across conflicts in how the message was framed, how the recruits were mobilised, and what their experiences were like in the field. The two most striking and consistent findings of Borum and Fein are that social ties and networks are used to generate new recruits and that the framing of a conflict is done by linking it to a broader global threat, i.e. invoking a so-called ‘defensive mobilisation’ (ibid: 225). So, although on face value it might not seem as if the individual has something to lose or gain, Malet and Borum and Fein’s research illustrates that framing, combined with political opportunities, can still convince individuals that something of importance to them is at stake.

With regard to a lack of objective definitions of what gains and what losses would be in a situation, Tarrow touches upon two important aspects. First of all, this makes it even more important in relation to the practice of framing, as there is apparently some leeway in establishing what a loss and what a gain would be in a specific situation. This would make it extra sensitive for framing purposes, and therefore an obvious tool for a movement’s organisation for affecting levels of mobilisation. Additionally, Berejikian argues that framing would have to occur within certain limits and has to take into account the existing structural context. As Berejikian explains, “there is point at which a value system must ultimately access aspects of empirical reality for its legitimization. If it does not, the contradictions between ideological assertions about the world and an individual’s subjective assessment of his or her social context prevents its adoption” (1992: 654). This thesis takes this notion a step further. The theoretical argument is that the best practice of framing is determined by the type of political opportunity that has occurred. A political opportunity provides a movement with great potential and incentives to mobilise if the political opportunity is relevant, or can be made relevant, for the movement’s core goal. Therefore, the moment such a political opportunity develops, it is simultaneously the moment where a frame would shape its strongest motivational dimensions. More than that, the empirical reality of that political opportunity will either push the narrative towards a frame of loss or a frame of gain. The suggestion of a frame of gain is discussed in the ensuing part.

Hirschman (1982) argues rather optimistically that there are also benefits in participating in collective actions, as striving for a goal can be just as satisfying as achieving something, and perhaps even the most satisfying. According to Hirschman, free-riding would also imply that an individual would miss out on an opportunity to gain in “public pleasures”, (ibid: 85) which are rewards such as “community, beauty, knowledge, and salvation” (ibid). In this sense, taking 23 action, for example politically contentious action, would normally be seen as a cost, but with Hirschman’s argument in mind, the process could also be typified as a potential gain in some respects. Or as Hirschman puts it, “the pleasure segment penetrates the cost segment and suffuses it with its own experience” (ibid: 88). On a personal level, most people will probably understand what Hirschman is trying to say, as such similar experiences are common to most. Hirschman uses an easier (to understand) and more concrete example to illustrate his idea by referring to the pleasure that we gain whilst preparing a meal. Whereas it could be argued that the preparation of a meal is simply a cost you have to endure for attaining a gain, that is the consumption of the food to still the hunger, most people sometimes, if not often, actually also enjoy the act of cooking. Furthermore, when we take this idea to the level of movements and contentious politics, individuals who joined movements often mention the benefits of being part of a group or a community and all the advantages that come with such membership.3 One might also think that this argument would no longer hold true when contentious action takes on extremely risky forms, such as when it concerns life and death. The case of transnational fighters and the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) movement serves as an interesting counter-argument to that expectation.

After ISIS declared their ‘caliphate’ on 29 June 2014, the group saw an unprecedented growth of Western foreign fighters and non-combatants joining their organisation (Schmid & Tinnes, 2015; Berger, 2015: 19). Foreign fighters have been a major determinant for the success of ISIS since then (Schmid & Tinnes, 2015). Which shows that ISIS has been successful in mobilising external support. So what makes these individuals decide to abandon their safe home country and to travel to Syria or Iraq, a decision that carries an extremely high risk of death. According to prospect theory, these individuals could be convinced to act as a result of ISIS putting more emphasis in framing attempts around the idea that the transnational identity is in a state of constant loss. Novenario (2016) examined the difference between the propaganda that al Qaeda and ISIS produced in their published magazines and concluded that both groups have distinctly different narratives. Al Qaeda’s main goal is to defend the Ummah against the West and therefore its main purpose is to attack the far enemy that is the West. The Ummah is an Arabic

3 For example, see Deeyah Khan’s documentary about the Alt-Right “White Right: Meeting the Enemy”, in which individuals – also with retrospective insight - often give similar motivational reasons for having joined a radical right movement. Many references are given to the social pleasure they got out of being accepted by a movement and by feeling that they had a purpose in life.

24 word meaning “community”, a term used for referring to the Islamic transnational community. ISIS, however, is more focused on building the caliphate and bringing Muslims under its rule by intimidating populations and outbidding other jihadist organisations. A structured and interpretative analysis of Dabiq, ISIS’s international recruitment magazine, has led Nelson (2017: 40-41) to the conclusion that ISIS’s most important recruitment message is related to asserting its legitimacy as the long awaited religious authority establishing Sharia law to its true extent in society. Nelson further notes, similarly to Novenario, that “jihadist terrorist and insurgent group recruitment has traditionally employed defensive narratives. However, the results show that ISIS may be adopting an “offensive jihad”, as opposed to a defensive one. This observation is contrary to the observations made by Malet and Borum and Fein of earlier insurgencies, as they ascertained that insurgency groups would generally fall back on framing a defensive narrative.

3.4 THEORY AND HYPOTHESIS

As mentioned in the previous section, Tarrow admitted that his theory on political opportunity was more a set of clues rather than a predictive model. The theory presented in this section follows the same lines of thinking. It is argued that the combination of political opportunity and accurate framing in the motivational dimension provides the strongest, to use Tarrow’s language, set of clues for when mobilisation for contentious politics will be most effective. The appearance of political opportunity is an important and perhaps crucial precondition for a movement to act. It provides a movement with the opportunity to mobilise itself effectively in the face of, what is to a particular movement, a relevant grievance. However, political opportunities are limited causes for collective actions, rather than explaining why individuals participate in collective actions, it identifies an important condition for mobilisation to occur. In order to actually persuade and mobilise individuals, the SMO has to frame accordingly to the empirical reality that is provided by the political opportunity.

Therefore, the essence of the framing should either be a focus on a frame of loss or a frame of gain. In the case of a frame of loss, the emphasis is set on a reference point in which the experienced outcome of inaction is perceived as a continuous loss. In other words, inaction would lead to deteriorating conditions for the individual, as this individual is unequivocally part of the identity that this movement represents. In the case of a frame of gain, the focus would be on the more positive experiences and prospects. For example, as we saw with the case of ISIS and the theory of Hirschman, there are also plenty of gains to achieve through participating in politically contentious action. Instead of putting the emphasis on the notion that the status quo brings about nothing but more loss, and that action is necessary to contain, or potentially turn, that loss, a frame of gain would stress the potential advancement of the movement and its identity.

Furthermore, as mentioned in the above, the frame must be reasonably close to empirical reality in order to remain legitimate and convincing for individuals. Following Berejikian (1992: 654) in this, and staying ahead of Tarrow’s critique, this would prevent any distorted comparisons of the individual’s own experienced situation with the narrative provided by the movement. The occurrence of a political opportunity would function as a stronghold for the movement in that regard, and therefore it can be expected that references to this political opportunity would occur rather frequently. The nature of the political opportunity would thus provide the instructions for the framing practices. In this sense, the concept of political opportunity refers to opportunities through elections, instability in political alignments, the presence of influential allies in the 26 political sphere, but also noteworthy events, such as disastrous or catastrophic events. These political opportunities must have been taken place in empirical reality. Interpretation of such a change is important as it can make or break the event into being a relevant political opportunity. However, a political opportunity has some inherent characteristics which make it more prone to being a positive opportunity that bears potential gains, or a negative opportunity that bears potential loss. These characteristics determine whether a frame of loss or a frame of gain is used.

Arceneaux’s (2012: 281) work on the strength of frames of losses and gains supports this theory as he argues that, “because humans appear to have built-in preferences to avoid losses, arguments that claim to avert losses have the potential to be more persuasive than those that claim to realize gains”. In a similar fashion, Arceneaux then points out that the frame of loss is not always the most effective choice of framing, as he claims that “the contextual information surrounding the message (either internal or external to the message) must successfully activate biased information processing” (ibid). Drawing on the work of neurobiology and political psychology (including prospect theory), Arceneaux found that anxiety plays an important role in the decision making process as it causes people to rely more on cognitive biases that prioritise loss aversion. This suggests that “when individuals are in an anxious state, they will be more likely to accept the recommendations of arguments that are framed in a bias-congruent fashion [e.g. a loss frame] and less likely to accept the recommendations of arguments that are framed in a fashion that is incongruent with the activated cognitive bias [e.g. a gain frame]” (ibid: 273). A loss of frame would therefore be more effective in cases where the political opportunity instigates fear among individuals. For example, seen through the lens the Alt-Right ideology, the 9/11 terrorist attacks and the nomination of Obama as president of the US are examples of fear-instigating events and thus political opportunities in which a frame of loss would resonate the strongest. On the other hand, Donald Trump as the (potential) new president of the US would be a political development raising support and enthusiasm from the perspective of such an ideological lens. Therefore, the expectation would be to see a switch to a more positive frame of gain compared to the more negative frame of loss.

This dynamic between a political opportunity and framing is also illustrated quite well in the case of ISIS. As an extremist Salafi-Jihadi organisation, ISIS is in competition with al Qaeda. Although they agree with each other on ideology in most aspects, the frame that is being used to mobilise support differs significantly. This could be explained by looking at the political opportunity that drove ISIS to change their narrative. The surge in foreign fighters came to life

27 after the declaration of the caliphate in 2014. The opportunity therefore arose, though it was self-created and the claim was widely rejected, for ISIS to build their own state. For an extremist Salafi-Jihadi organisation, achieving this ultimate goal had an inherently positive characteristic. It therefore makes sense that ISIS relied on a positive frame of gain rather than a frame of loss. For al-Qaeda the situation is very different. This organisation’s raison d’être is the liberation of Islamic lands from Western occupation or from rulers who do not adhere to their ideology of Salafi Islam. Although they might have the ambition in the long run to set up an Islamic caliphate, they have not achieved such a thing. Therefore, al-Qaeda remains focused on the initial task, which is the liberation of the lands. In order to persuade individuals to join or support the organisation in this objective, it is necessary to show that the lands are indeed under attack or control by antagonists. This requires a frame of loss that emphasises that the status quo is unacceptable and will only get worse if nothing is done to change it.

What this case also shows is that the SMO in this theory is attributed with quite some importance, as it is argued that the organisation, or leadership, plays a significant role in setting the frame. With regard to the question of leadership and its combination with movements that are, in a large part, active on the internet, it is important to accept that the identification of the organisation of such a movement is not as straightforward as it used to be the case for SMs in the 1960s and the 1970s. As mentioned in the introduction of the literature review, the more modern and new movements, which are predominantly active on the internet, are more complex and therefore it is more difficult to extract and identify the underlying social networks and thus also its leadership. However, as this study will illustrate with the case of the Alt-Right movement, leaders can generally be identified as there are usually a number of spokespersons on behalf of the group and one or more platforms on the internet that explicitly name themselves as the representatives of the movement.

Based on this proposed theory, we can expect a number of things when we observe political contentious action. Firstly, in most cases successful mobilisation will occur after the appearance of a political opportunity. Secondly, framing would also focus on the conditions affecting an identity with which the individual could relate. These conditions would then be linked to a frame of loss or a frame of gain. Thirdly, it can be expected that the framing efforts of a movement or organisation relate to the empirical reality of the political opportunity, and that this reality determines whether a frame of loss or a frame of gain is potentially the strongest and therefore predominant.

In this research, the Alt-Right movement will be analysed in order to test this theory and to therefore gain more understanding of how movements mobilise support for politically contentious behaviour. The Alt-Right as a movement in the US has been chosen as it grew out of a clear unprecedented political opportunity, i.e. the nomination of Donald Trump as president of the US following on from Barack Obama who had completed his two terms as the 44th president of the US from January 2009 until January 2017. The next section will explain in more detail why this was a political opportunity for a movement such as the Alt-Right. Based on the proposed theory, the following hypothesis can be formulated:

H: The type of frame that is used by the Alt-Right movement switches from a frame of loss to a frame of gain as a consequence of the developing political opportunity that is represented by the political ascendancy of Donald Trump in the US.

4. METHODOLOGY

4.1 CASE

The subsequent two subchapters will provide the reader with information about the decisions that were made with regard to the number of cases, whether the study is qualitative or quantitative, and why the Alt-Right was chosen for this study and what characteristics of the movement make this case an interesting phenomenon.

4.1.1. CASE | DESIGN

The question that this study attempts to answer is whether any political opportunity, one that is relevant to a movement, influences the type of frame that would be the overarching communication methodology of that movement. In order to get an answer to this question, this study is based on a single case analysis of the Alt-Right. However, as section 4.2.1. will illustrate, the Alt-Right is not represented by merely one single platform, or at least it seems to be a matter of controversy within the broader movement and its self-acclaimed members. Therefore, the actual analysis includes two different platforms. Nevertheless, it will be argued later on in this study that these two platforms, together with a good deal of other platforms, both embody the Alt-Right movement. The decision to include two rather than one platform was made to increase the validity of this study as having two notable Alt-Right platforms will provide a more valid and complete picture of the actual movement. Eventually this study considers these two cases to be part of one single case: the Alt-Right. A single case study generally indicates that the researcher is applying a qualitative lens to attain more in-depth information on the specific case that is being observed. Applying such a design in this study will result in a thorough analysis of the frames used by the Alt-Right movement in the chosen time-periods. Therefore, the expectation is that it will be the best design for extracting and identifying the possible present frames of loss and gain in the form as they will be defined later on.

4.1.2. CASE | SELECTION

The choice for the Alt-Right as the case for analysis was made for several different reasons. Firstly, it is argued that the ascendance of Donald Trump in US politics has been a decisive and elevating political opportunity for the Alt-Right movement. Furthermore, the ideology of the Alt-Right seems to have shifted from the fringes of society to the mainstream. Studying a movement that went through such a shift can lead to fruitful insights within the domain of politically contentious movements. The reason why such a movement is worthy of examination is because the shift from the fringe to the mainstream implies that the movement has been effective in its attempts for mobilisation. Therefore, in order to develop a better understanding of the relevance of framing and political opportunities within contentious politics and social movement mobilisation, the Alt-Right emerges as an appropriate and possibly insightful case to study. In addition, the underlying explanations of that shift are worth discovering as the societal impact of an ideology that moves from the fringes more towards the mainstream can affect the existing political and societal conditions, and facilitate polarisation.

4.2 DATA COLLECTION

This study analysed two different Alt-Right internet platforms, i.e. the Daily Stormer and Radix Journal. The characteristics of the content will be briefly described in section 4.2.2., but first an overview of the complete range of sources, the ‘universe’, is given to provide the reader with a more complete picture of all the actors involved in the Alt-Right movement. Website analysis is difficult as it is hard to establish the resonance of the different internet platforms. As the introduction made clear, the Alt-Right is a loosely-organised, internet-based movement. The decision was therefore made to restrict the search for potential sources to platforms on the internet. Case studies on the Alt-Right are scarce and agreement on who and what platform truly represents the movement is not agreed upon. Therefore there are few sources to refer to as validation for the choices that were made for this study. One of the main footholds in making these decisions has been David Neiwert’s (2017) book on the Alt-Right. Neiwert outlines the context in which the Alt-Right came into being (for a summary, see the section 1.1. that introduces and defines the Alt-Right) and in particular chapters 10 and 11 give a coherent overview of the Alt-Right movement and the affiliated individuals and websites.

4.2.1. DATA COLLECTION | UNIVERSE

The roots of the Alt-Right can be found in the 4Chan website, created by Christopher Poole. Through internet memes and trolls, the forums became a meeting place for individuals who would later call themselves members of the Alt-Right. The “manosphere” and its discussion boards, such as “men’s rights activists”, were the main sections on the website where Alt- Righters gathered and discussed their misogynist ideas and anti-Semite conspiracies (ibid: 232- 233). The harassment that accompanied the Gamergate discussion (see introduction) led to more restrictions on the 4Chan website. As a response, 8Chan was created and the discussions moved to this platform. These platforms are not chosen for analysis as they are leaderless platforms and therefore the expectation of a coherent frame is not realistic. The hypothesis in this study is based on the idea that the movement’s organisation functions as a top-down frame- setter in order to mobilise further support for the movement. Therefore 4Chan and 8Chan are not perceived as the best options for an in-depth analysis. Nevertheless, further research on this topic could examine such message boards to see whether the frame of the SMO finds any resonance in the more autonomous forums.

With regard to potential influencing individuals, Neiwert (ibid: 236-250) highlights the names of Richard Spencer, Brad Griffin, Matthew Heimbach, Stephen Bannon, Milo Yiannopoulos, and Andrew Anglin. Spencer is one of the individuals who is putting himself forward in claiming to be one of the leaders of the Alt-Right movement and he also proclaims to have invented the name of the movement (although the first mention of the Alt-Right name was uttered by Paul Gottfried, his former mentor). He is probably the most recognisable leader of the Alt-Right movement (Wendling, 2018). After having founded and led the websites Alternative Right and National Policy Institute (NPI), Spencer gave up these platforms and started giving his sole attention to spreading his white nationalist ideology on the website Radix Journal. As Spencer emerged as one of the influential figures and major advocates of the movement, this platform will be part of the analysis. This is accounted for by his frequent media-appearances and the fact that he seems to be communicating an extreme view that excludes him from the so-called Alt-Lite. Nonetheless, he attempts to reach a broader audience – compared to the more openly degrading racist platforms that will be discussed later - with his ‘academic racist’ style, meaning that he bases his opinions and arguments on (controversial) scientific research, pays attention to what he wears (suit and tie), adopts a more eloquent style of speaking and writing, and stays calm in tense and controversial debates.

Two other white nationalists of the same generation, Brad Griffin and Matthew Heimbach, founded the Occidental Dissent (OD) and the Traditionalist Workers Party (TWP). Griffin’s Occidental Dissent is, likewise, a valid option for analysis as it drew a wide audience through its exposure on platforms such as 4Chan (ibid: 239). However, time limitations force this study to focus on one or two platforms at the most. Griffin’s OD and Heimbach’s TWP show strong affiliations with the extreme neo-Nazi side of the Alt-Right, as Griffin is associated with the Council of Conservative Citizens and Heimbach is associated with Stormfront and David Duke who is the former leader of the Ku Klux Klan (ibid: 242). The decision was made to include one extreme platform and one relatively moderate platform in order to get a complete picture of the Alt-Right, thereby increasing the internal validity. In addition to Spencer’s platform Radix Journal, Andrew Anglin’s neo-Nazi platform The Daily Stormer is also analysed. But before this platform will be introduced, an explanation is provided regarding the platforms that constitute the Alt-Lite and why this wing of the Alt-Right was excluded for analysis.

Stephen Bannon and Milo Yiannopoulos and the affiliated Breitbart website constitute the most moderate branch of the Alt-Right and have often proclaimed to be the leaders or at least the representatives of the movement. Breitbart is therefore usually seen as the main platform for the Alt-Right (Wendling, 2018: 2), including by Richard Spencer who commented that “Breitbart has acted as a ‘gateway’ to the Alt Right ideas and writers” (Lyon, 2017: 16). Bannon, former executive chairman of Breitbart and White House Chief Strategist during Trump’s first seven months as president, claimed that Breitbart is the “platform for the Alt- Right” (ibid). However, there are two reasons for not selecting Breitbart. Firstly, the Breitbart website does not have a database of articles that were posted since 2014. The oldest articles that can be traced back on the website are from about two months ago and therefore it is practically impossible to analyse the relevant articles. Secondly, Breitbart is unmistakeably part of the Alt- Lite (ibid). Although Yiannopoulos and co-writer Allum Bakhari (2016) argue that the Alt- Right does not include white supremacist ideology, close observation of the Alt-Right begs the differ, a view that is also supported by other observers (Neiwert: 2017: 220-231).

Andrew Anglin, founder of the Daily Stormer website, also disagrees with the description of the Alt-Right movement as proposed by Yiannopoulos and Bakhari. While he was active on the 4Chan website, Anglin became more extreme in his views and was open about his radicalisation as he explained that he “went full Nazi” (ibid: 248) during this period of time. In July 2013, he founded the website The Daily Stormer, named after the Nazi anti-Semitic weekly newspaper Der Stürmer (ibid). The Daily Stormer will be analysed as a representative of the openly neo-

Nazi side of the Alt-Right. In the spring of 2016, Anglin claimed that the website was “the world’s most visited Alt-Right website” (ibid: 249). Neiwert describes Anglin as being the “troll king” (ibid) and points out the Anglin attacked Breitbart’s attempt at defining the Alt-Right as a movement that excluded the neo-Nazi ideology, especially concerning the question of Jews and the role of white nationalists. Anglin argued that the core concept of the movement is essentially that “whites are undergoing an extermination via mass immigration into white countries which was enabled by a corrosive liberal ideology of white self-hatred, and that the Jews are at the centre of this agenda” (ibid: 250).

There are many other websites and individuals who represent, to some extent, the Alt-Right. For example, RamZPaul on YouTube and @RickyVaughn on Twitter, the websites Danger and Play, the Right Stuff, Political Cesspool, and the more extreme neo-Nazi websites, - similar to the Daily Stormer - such as the Knights party, Stormfront, Council of Conservative Citizens (CCC), Vanguard News Network (VNN), and Vdare. All these platforms and individuals each represent a side of the Alt-Right. However, time restrictions force this study to limit the number of platforms for analysis. Nevertheless, the choices for these two platforms are made with confidence as they both represent two different important wings of the Alt-Right.

4.2.2. DATA COLLECTION | SOURCES

This section provides a brief explanation of the two platforms that will be examined.

Radix Journal is an online magazine founded by Richard Spencer. It went live in 2013. Most of the articles are written by Spencer and Andrew Joyce, however there are also plenty of guest writers. As it is a magazine, the articles are generally rather long. Some articles are relatively short and can be between 500 and 1500 words. Most of the articles are longer and range between 2000 and 5000 words. Most of the articles are written to convey a certain position on a societal aspect or issue, but some other articles seem to concern more superficial topics, such as recently released movies or television shows.

The Daily Stormer is an online news publication founded by Andrew Anglin in 2013. Most of the articles are written by Anglin himself, although the website also publishes some articles by guest writers. The articles are shorter compared to Radix Journal, about 500 words per article, but many more articles are published on a daily basis compared to Radix Journal. The selection of articles published by The Daily Stormer has to be limited due to time limitations. The

34 website’s articles are categorised under the sections ‘US’, ‘World’, ‘Jewish Problem’, ‘Society’, ‘Insight’, and ‘Race War’. This study will only analyse the articles that were published in the section ‘US’, for the reason that Trump’s political ascendance is first and foremost an opportunity directly related to the US and because this study is only focused on the Alt-Right movement in the US.

4.3 RESEARCH METHOD

The following three subchapters will elaborate on the research method of this study and provides the possible advantages and disadvantages of that method. The time-periods from which the data will be extracted is presented in the subsequent chapter. The third subchapter is dedicated to the operationalisation and the definitions of the variables will be presented together with a detailed explanation of the codebook (including the indicators and the rules for during the coding process) and coding scheme.

4.3.1. RESEARCH METHOD | CONTENT ANALYSIS

In order to generate data from these articles, a content analysis will be performed. Content analysis allows for a systematic quantification of text into predetermined categories. Holsti defines content analysis as being “any technique for making inferences by objectively and systematically identifying specified characteristics of messages” (1969: 14). The notion of objectivity refers to the requirement that clear rules of coding have to be made in advance and that the these rules are transparent. Content analysis as a research method is not completely objective as the operationalisation is done subjectively. However, Bryman (2012) emphasises that transparency is important for the reliability of the study. Furthermore, Bryman (ibid) distinguishes between manifest versus latent content, and the emphasis on text versus emphasis on themes. Manifest content refers to the superficial content that can be read without an in- depth analysis, and latent content refers to content that does require in-depth analysis for identification. Or as Bryman explains it, “uncovering such latent content means interpreting meanings that lie beneath the surface” (ibid: 290). The distinction between a focus on text and a focus on themes refers to the idea of, for example, counting words versus the search for underlying ideas in the content. For this study, content analysis is used in a manner to extract latent meanings (frames) through the in-depth study of possible present themes. This means

35 that the units will be themes, according to Holsti (1969: 116) the “most useful unit of content analysis”. He argues that it is especially useful and required for, for example, research on propaganda and attitudes. It is, however, also a difficult unit of analysis as boundaries are at times difficult to determine and multiple themes can be present in a text (ibid). Therefore, looking to extract the latent theme in a text means that there is a need for a more interpretative approach (Bryman: 297). This is necessary as the decision must be made as to what the overarching theme is within a text. Also, some room for inductive interpretation of the text is necessary in order to identify possible indicators for the dependent variables that were not predefined. However, the analysis in this study is predominantly deductive as the frames are defined prior to the execution of the analysis. In the next part, the predefined indicators of a frame of loss and a frame of gain will be presented.

4.3.2. RESEARCH METHOD | TIME PERIOD

Trump announced his candidacy for the Republican primaries at June 14th, 2015, and he won the presidential election after campaigning against Hillary Clinton at November 8th in 2016. Based on this knowledge, the choice has been made to sample the selected sources at the following five time-periods:

1. December 2014. 2. May 14th, 2015, up till and including June 14th, 2015. 3. June 15th, 2015, up till and including July 14th, 2015. 4. October 8th, 2016, up till and including November 8th, 2016. 5. November 9th, 2016, up till and including December 8th, 2016.

The first two time-periods function as a baseline in order to determine which frame usually predominates without the interference of the independent variable. Trump had not yet announced that he would be running for president in this time-period and therefore the political opportunity could not yet have affected the use of frame. The month of December 2014 was added to the month prior to Trump’s announcement in order to have an extra month completely unrelated with the, at the time, upcoming primaries. The decision for December 2014 was made at random as any other month prior to May 14th in 2015 would have included the same important characteristic, which is the absence of the independent variable.

The month before Trump won the presidential election and the month after are also included for analysis. The main reason for selecting this event in addition to Trump’s announcement is that it is conceivable that it was still unclear whether Trump was really worth the movement’s support. Furthermore, primary elections include many different candidates. The fact that there were more than two candidates might have affected essential characteristics of the political opportunity. In addition, it can be argued that after the second event, Trump had to mobilise more support by the moderates in order to win the general elections. This also might have affected the framing of the Alt-Right movement.

4.3.3. RESEARCH METHOD | OPERATIONALISATION

In order to start coding, the categories must be operational. That means that the categories need to be unmistakeably clear and well-defined before the coding process can begin. Holsti (1969: 94) defines coding as “the process where raw data are systematically transformed and aggregated into units which permit precise description of the relevant content characteristics”. Holsti’s definition provides us with some key tasks.

One of these tasks is that the process must be systematic. This means that the coder must always follow the same system while coding. Therefore a coding scheme, or observation schedule, will be constructed. This coding scheme is a plan that needs to be followed during the coding process in order to retrieve valuable and reliable data. More specifically, a systematic assessment is guaranteed with the creation of a list of questions that the coder must go through in order to extract the underlying frame of an article.

Before the questions can be constructed, it must be clear what the relevant content characteristics are supposed to be in light of this research. The categories (frame of loss and frame of gain) therefore require precise description. In the following paragraphs, a clear definition accompanied by exhaustive indicators are presented in order to successfully describe the categories. Based on this information, a codebook is constructed that helps to guide the coder through the analysis (see appendix 1). As mentioned, this study is partly deductive and inductive. The codebook must be exhaustive, meaning that “all relevant items in the sample of documents under study must be capable of being placed into a category” (Holsti, 1969: 99). However, the categories in this study, frame of loss and frame of gain, are relatively broad and therefore it is near impossible to include all possible indicators in advance. Holsti acknowledges

37 this problem and points out that, “at best, [you should] try to define each of these concepts as precisely as possible by characterizing its major properties; these would serve as the rules by which coders would judge whether content units fall within its boundaries” (ibid). Essentially, this also means that inductive interpretation will be necessary during the coding process. For that reason, the codebook will be refined when necessary during the analysis of the data.

In addition to the coding scheme and the codebook, the coder must use one more tool for an objective and systematic analysis. Throughout the coding process, the coder must fill in the information of the data in a coding schedule. The coding scheme provides the study with transparency as the date, title, and code of the article are registered. In order to make sure that these tools provide the study with consistent results, an intercoder reliability test was carried out prior to the analysis was performed. This test was conducted on a subsample of 25 articles of Radix Journal. 23 out of 25 articles were coded correspondingly, providing this research with an intercoder reliability of 92%.

No prior research could be found that performed a comparable analysis and defined the categories in this specific context, i.e. the attempt to extract the underlying frame of loss or a frame of gain from website articles. Therefore, the indicators are based primarily on prospect theory which focuses predominantly on a frame of loss. In similar fashion, Berejikian’s (1992) applied the frame of loss in order to explain mobilisation effectiveness. Furthermore, the indicators are based on the expectations of article content prior to the execution of the analysis.

As mentioned in the section on prospect theory, Kahneman and Tversky (1979) explain that the individual will go through three different steps; the identification of the reference point, the identification of possible outcomes, and the step of connecting the outcomes to the reference point. A frame of loss either means that the reference point (status quo) is negative, that the possible outcomes are negative compared to the reference point, or that both the reference point and the possible outcomes are negative. Logically, a frame of gain is the opposite. In this case, the reference point is positive, the possible outcomes are positive compared to the reference point, or both the reference point and the possible outcomes are positive. Berejikian argues that a frame of loss is indicated by the argument that the “existing social-structural arrangements are worse than in some “normal” past” (1992: 653). This, again, emphasises the idea that an outcome is compared with a reference point. Based on this, the categories can be defined.

Frame of loss

In the case of a frame of loss, the emphasis is a reference point implying that the current conditions and/or future conditions for the movement’s identity/ideology are negative and/or will remain negative.

Frame of gain

In the case of a frame of gain, the emphasis is a reference point implying that the current conditions and/or future conditions for the movement’s identity/ideology are good and/or improving.

For a frame of loss, it is expected that the following indicators will be present. First of all, an article can establish the current reference point. The present can be, implicitly or explicitly, compared to some idea of a glorified past in US or European history. This does not mean that any reference to the past should be coded as a frame of loss, rather it concerns articles in which the past is portrayed as an example of how contemporary society ought to be organised, or where the past is explicitly used as an example for comparison between the negative current conditions and the positive conditions in the past. An example of this is a reference to the times of racial segregation in the US before the Civil Rights Act of 1964. Indicators are also the explicit comments that portray the idea that the status quo is negative. These are the more straightforward and superficial frames of loss as there is an explicit mention of the negative conditions for the group’s identity. Examples are references to the high level of immigrants, discrimination against white people (through affirmative action), and negative economic conditions attempting to undermine the existence of the white European-American. Furthermore, a frame of loss is also indicated by a narrative in which the portrayal of the future, the outcome, is particularly grim. This can be expected to be based on conspiracy theories in which the Jews, Liberals, Conservatives (‘Cuckservatives’), Mexicans, Arabs, and feminists are conspiring to take over the world and attempting to undermine the existence of the white European-American, also referred to as a ‘white genocide’.

For the frame of gain, the expectation is that, concurring with the proposed theory, the political opportunity functions as the basis for positive narratives. The main political opportunity, as argued, is the political ascendance of Donald Trump in US politics. Examples of references to

Trump that indicate a frame of gain are overly positive assessments of Trump’s impact without even having won the election, the glorification of Trump as a political leader, the hopeful anticipation of a great new era under Trump as president, and hyperbolic manifestations of attributing symbolic value to any law or plan of action proposed by Trump. With regard to establishing a current reference point, it can be expected that the articles convey the message that the movement and/or its ideology is gaining support and that white people are uniting under Trump. Enthusiasm about the movement and the ideology would indicate a frame of gain. This indicator for a frame of gain is partly based on the theory of Hirschman who argues for the acknowledgement of the satisfying benefits of joining a movement (see 3.3. on Prospect Theory). It is expected that the main characteristic in the frame of gain revolves around the idea to ‘Make America Great Again’, the core slogan utilised by Trump during the campaign and which was first used by Trump during the speech in which he announced he would be running for the Republican Party. Here, again, we can expect references to the past. However, the main message would now indicate that the future outcome would be as good as this past level. In other words, the prospect of a great America is emphasised. References to the negative past or current conditions are also potential ways to emphasise the elements that will be better with a future shared with Trump as president. In this case, however, this future must be emphasised. If not, it will merely be references to the negative past or current conditions and then the article must be coded as a frame of loss.

The categories must be mutually exclusive, meaning that “no content datum can be placed in more than a single cell” (Holsti, 1969: 99). For that reason, two coding rules have been established. These rules must always be followed throughout the coding process.

Rule 1

A reference to a positive outcome in the future must always be coded as a frame of gain. This means that when a reference is made to a positive past or a negative reference point, it must only be coded as a frame of loss if there is no reference to a positive outcome, i.e. an improvement of these conditions.

Rule 2

When both the indicators ‘the movement is gaining popularity’ and ‘reference to the negative current conditions’ can be identified in an article, this article should be coded as a frame of loss. For example, an article could be concerned about the fact that people are becoming increasingly aware of the negative (current) conditions. If there is no sign or indication provided in the article of a possible improvement as a result of this growth in feeling, the overall narrative remains one that is focused on the negative conditions.

Having established the indicators and rules for coding in the above section, the analysis scheme can now be constructed and presented. The assessment of an article must be guided by the questions shown below in order to extract the present frame. However it must be noted that it is not realistic to expect the presence of an underlying frame for every single article. Some articles might not refer, directly or indirectly, to the current conditions. Therefore a third category is established, i.e. ‘other’. The observation schedule can be found on the next page. All of the questions, except for the last one, ask a question about the impression the author gives on the future, current or past conditions. It is important to note that the coder must not judge the conditions according to their own standards, rather the coder must view the condition through the author’s lens. The codebook with the abovementioned indicators will help to effectively execute that task.

Does the author give the impression that the future conditions might improve?

yes

code as “frame of gain” (2)

Does the author give the impression that the future conditions might deteriorate?

yes

code as “frame of loss” (1)

Does the author give the impression that the current conditions are positive?

yes

code as “frame of gain” (2)

Does the author give the impression that the current conditions are negative?

yes

code as “frame of loss” (1)

Does the author give the impression that the past conditions were positive?

yes

code as “frame of loss” (1)

Does the author give the impression that the past conditions were negative?

yes

code as “frame of loss” (1)

Does the author explicitly motivate or empower the readers to act or join because it’s fun, creates unity, or because of any other positive reason?

yes

code as “frame of gain” (2)

code as “other” (3)

4.4 VALIDITY AND RELIABILITY

In this section, the potential validity and reliability issues with regard to the methodology presented in the above sections will be discussed.

“Validity refers to the issue of whether an indicator (or set of indicators) that is devised to gauge a concept really measures that concept” (Bryman, 2012: 171), or as Mason puts it, “validity refers to whether you are observing, identifying, or “measuring” what you say you are” (Mason, 1996: 24, as quoted in Bryman, 2012: 389). In other words, attaining proper validity requires the researcher to critically evaluate his or her methodology with regard to whether it really measures the concept. This is the internal aspect of validity as the researcher is obliged to look into his or her own research. Essentially, the researcher has to monitor whether the study’s heart is beating at a healthy pace, whether it functions as intended. The intention of this study and the task of the methodology is to extract frames of loss and frames of gain from online articles of the Alt-Right platforms Radix Journal and The Daily Stormer. The definitions and indicators were constructed based on the literature and common sense. The internal validity might be valued as delicate as the concepts are rather broad and therefore open for subjective interpretation. Content analysis as a method in general is prone to the danger of subjectivity. With this in mind, the definitions and indicators are constructed in a transparent and exhaustive manner. This simultaneously touches upon the subject of reliability, as “reliability refers to the consistency of a measure of a concept” (Bryman, 2012: 169). As mentioned in the section on ‘operationalisation’ (4.3.3.), the transparency and exhaustiveness of the codebook, coding scheme, and coding schedule provide the study with internal validity and reliability. The intercoder reliability test (result: 92%) add support to the premise that the reliability is of a trustworthy level. Furthermore, in order to provide the study with more transparency, the following analysis section (5) will provide the reader with examples. The ambiguous articles will be highlighted and an explanation will be given for why certain coding decisions were made in these cases.

In addition to internal validity, a research project must also account for potential issues with regard to the external validity. The issue of external validity will be discussed in the section on limitations (6.3.).

5. ANALYSIS

This section will provide an insight into the content analysis that was performed. It functions to contribute to a deeper understanding of how the task of coding developed in practice, as it simultaneously accommodates the requirements of transparency. Not every single article will be discussed in the following section, rather it represents an opportunity to highlight some of the prevailing frames, topics, and ambiguities. The first and foremost purpose of this section is to present the results which will be done through the use of quotes and the display of percentages concerning the distribution of the two main variables, i.e. frame of loss and frame of gain. The interpretation of the results in the light of the research question and hypothesis will be discussed in the section after that.

5.1 RADIX JOURNAL

5.1.1. 2014 DECEMBER

The analysis for Radix Journal for December 2014 included twenty-two articles. Twelve articles have been assigned with a frame of loss, three with a frame of gain, and with six articles there was no evident underlying frame to be extracted.

Some of the articles on this website review multimedia productions, e.g. television shows, movies, games or books. It is particularly difficult to extract a frame in these instances because most of the content appears to be a neutral description of the production. However, in most of the cases, there is an underlying message present in the reviews. The message could, for example, illustrate the negative aspects of society (as interpreted by Radix Journal) and therefore imply a frame of loss as it falls under the indicator ‘references to the negative current conditions’. An example is the article ‘Mass Effect and the Defiance of Western Man’. In this article the author interprets the meaning of the game ‘Mass Effect’ where the protagonist is urged to prevent world destruction. The article draws a line to the real world and it is argued that “both the people told about in the story of the game as well as contemporary Western man has a great deal of knowledge about history [and there is an] awareness of the

44 destruction that is ever present in history” (Radix Journal, 2014). This emphasis on the battle versus world destruction throughout the whole article and the connection the author makes with the hypothetical destruction of Western man imply loss as a predominant frame as the current conditions and future predictions for the movement’s target population are conceived to be rather gloomy.

Another option is that the author identifies support for the movement’s ideology and thus claims (in)direct support from the world of multimedia. An example of this is the article ‘Nolan-esque’. In this article, the choices for movie themes by film director Christopher Nolan are praised as the “credence and power he affords these perspectives (which he must nevertheless obligingly demonize) speaks to Nolan’s magnanimity . . . and maybe even a suppressed longing to be something closer to us… the least we can say is that he is quite willing to entertain heretical thoughts . . . sometimes very heretical thoughts” (ibid). Although the author points out that Nolan does not always reach the same conclusions as the Alt-Right ideology would favour, it does present themes in which tensions are built between, for example in the Dark Knight Trilogy, characters that resemble a “Mohammedan figure” (League of Shadows) and a “colonial-stock aristocrat” (Bruce Wayne). In addition to this, Bruce Wayne also supports Harvey Dent in his assertion that Gotham is in need of a dictator for when the enemy is standing at the gates, thus portraying Bruce Wayne as supportive of a dictatorship in times of need. Essentially the author describes Nolan’s success as a positive development as “Nolan seems to be acknowledging the concept of the Kyklos, the traditional cyclical notion of history… indeed, it is explicitly referenced in Batman Begins by Ra’s al Ghul… Batman is the hero, but as a sort of Buckleyian, rear-guardist sense—“standing athwart history, yelling stop”… simply the notion of civilizational decline — put forth in a period of civilizational decline, when all mainstream institutions assert fanatically that we continue on an upward course of “progress” — is, in itself, subversive… this is not changed by the fact that it comes from the mouth of a comic-book villain” (ibid). Similar reviews are made in this article on other movies produced by Nolan. The article is coded as a frame of gain as the underlying message of the article appears to be that Nolan acknowledges certain aspects of society that are crucial to the ideology of the Alt-Right. Nolan’s improving status as a film director is assumed to be accompanied with a certain degree of soft, cultural power. Therefore, this can be explained as frame of gain as it falls under the indicator ‘the movement’s ideology is gaining popularity’.

A few articles were merely links to podcasts, YouTube videos, and other content. These articles were not included in the analysis as this content often discussed a plethora of topics and

45 therefore the article itself cannot be characterised as either a frame of loss or gain. An exception was made when a link was accompanied with text for interpretation of the link. For example, in ‘White Pathology in a Nutshell’, a link is shared to a CNN interview with Anderson Cooper. The text states that “if you’re ever in need of a shining example of the self-hatred many whites have for themselves, look no further” (ibid). This is followed by an explanation about why Anderson Cooper’s reaction perfectly illustrates how ‘white guilt’ has developed into becoming a real problem. In this case, it seems to be an evident example of a frame of loss as it emphasises a negative status quo, one where white people have gone so far in feeling guilt for the actions of their (slaveholding) ancestors that they are happy to hear that these ancestors were killed by one of their slaves.

5.1.2. 2015 MAY 14 – JUNE 14 & JUNE 15 - JULY 14

In the following section, articles that were put online by Radix Journal one month prior and one month following Trump’s announcement to run as candidate for the Republican Party will be analysed. The analysis for May 14 up to and including June 14 2015 covered twenty articles. Eleven articles have been assigned with a frame of loss, three with a frame of gain, and with five articles there was no evident underlying frame to be extracted. Again, the choice was made to not include articles that shared merely links to other content unless it was guided by text that indicated the clear presence of one of the frames.

For some articles the identification of a possible present frame was straightforward. For example, in the first paragraph of ‘A Gentle Introduction to White Nationalism, Part II’, the author mentions that the “number one concern for White Nationalists” is “White survival” and that the “current trends of demographic decline and replacement” are threatening this survival (Radix Journal, 2015).

Other articles are a bit more ambiguous. For example, ‘Whites Behaving Badly’, concerns a gang fight including only white people. The article talks about the shooting as a comical, but also contemptible, incident. However, the writer points out that it is not “entirely a bad thing that the media is going wild with a story about white thugs – it’s a welcome respite from the normal reporting on domicile whites” (ibid). The article’s main argument is that, while this

46 incident was insanely idiotic and darkly humorous, it was an example of “white people as individuals you fear, not as potential victims of non-white crimes” (ibid). Therefore, this article can be identified as an empowering article for white people to be less domicile. Following the codebook, this article was therefore coded as a frame of gain.

The analysis for June 15 up to and including July 14 included seventeen articles. Four articles have been assigned with a frame of loss, six with a frame of gain, and with six articles there was no evident underlying frame to be extracted.

An example of an article that was coded as a frame of gain is the article ‘Based’. This article concerns Rachel Dolezal, an American woman who claims to be a black woman while in fact she is white and has no black or African ancestry. The articles states that “this is one of those rare moments where politically correct orthodoxy is still undetermined and progressives are well aware anything they say now could cost them a job later” (ibid). Furthermore, the article also notes that the case of Rachel Dolezal also negatively affects critical race theory. In other words, the author of this article argues that the concept of ‘transracial’ both challenges and pushes the boundaries of their ideological rivals. This provides the writer with an opportunity to present an alternative. This alternative is an identity that attaches importance to “genetic makeup, their family, and their community” (ibid) and the idea that “our own identity is never entirely self-created, nor is it a matter of choice [as] each one of us is the product of events stretching back to the dawn of time that could not have occurred other than how they did if we still to exist” (ibid). Although not stated explicitly, it seems logical that the writer is referring to the idea of being white and having European ancestors as a crucial identity characteristic. The reason for assuming this is because it is a crucial element in the ideology of white nationalists. The concluding sentence of the article continues this empowering rhetoric: “And that is why, as individuals and as people, our mission for this century is to become who we are” (ibid).

The articles on Dylann Roof are somewhat more difficult to code as there are some mixed messages in the different articles. Roof committed mass murder in a Charleston church, shooting dead nine people out of hatred towards the black community.

In the first article, ‘Dylann Roof and Political Violence’, the act is rejected and shunned upon, as it is noted to be “a disastrous and appalling event” (ibid). However, the author points out that “what he published [the manifesto, prior to the attack] was no insane screed, the kind of thing in which madness is palpable [and] for our movement’s sake, it would have be [sic] better if Roof had produced something that was crazy or stupid, and thus easily dismissed” (ibid). Throughout the article, the author seems to understand and perhaps approve Roof’s actions, “he deserves a fair trial, for one, and we should also try to take his words seriously and try to understand him, if not approve of him” (ibid). Essentially, the message of the article seems to be that Roof’s ideology and observations were correct, but that political violence is (probably) not the best way to change society as it is “hard to imagine a worse political symbol than firing upon unarmed, peaceful people in a church” (ibid). However, “That’s not to say that many of us don’t dream of The Day, when everything will change” (ibid). But the author argues that hard realism is crucial for a visionary movement. The article therefore seems to convey a motivational, empowering message to ‘identitarianism’ to not use violence like Dylann Roof did, but, in order to build a new culture, to keep “doing what we should be doing, and we are doing the only thing we can be doing” (ibid). Therefore, the underlying message seems to be that the movement’s ideology is gaining popularity and a sense of group-belonging and the idea of having a shared common goal is sentimentalised. For that reason, this article is coded as a frame of gain.

Other articles on Dylann Roof concerned the issue of the Confederate flag. Prior to the attack, Roof had posted pictures of himself with the Confederate flag online and this led to discussion of whether the Confederate flag should be prohibited or not as it was not the first time that a right-wing extremist affiliated the flag to violence. One article, ‘Whose Flag’, interprets this discussion as another piece of evidence of a “war over symbolism” (ibid). This article argues that patriotism is declining and that, in addition to the Confederate flag, the American flag is losing sentimental and patriotic value, becoming simply “just another logo” (ibid). A position that is shown clearly by the following paragraph: “For now, we still live in this Hollow Empire, going through the motions this Independence Day even as blundering kosher conservatives recognize modern America isn’t worth celebrating… “Americans” of whatever race are increasingly seeing each other as strangers, and slowly, ever so slowly, whites are recognizing we have no stake in this failed experiment stumbling on any longer” (ibid). This grim and negative interpretation of the status quo indicates the presence of a frame of loss.

5.1.3. 2016 OCTOBER 8 – NOVEMBER 8 & NOVEMBER 9 – DECEMBER 8

The analysis for October 8 up to and including November 8 included twenty-eight articles. Nine articles have been assigned with a frame of loss, fourteen with a frame of gain, and with four articles there was no evident underlying frame to be extracted.

Most of the articles observed in the first weeks were coded as a frame of loss. Articles were preoccupied with topics concerning the upcoming elections. Criticism of Trump and the far-right movement was often discussed and turned into criticism of the liberals and conservatives, resulting in a bitter conclusion about current conditions in the US. For example, ‘The Rigged System’ article starts by summing up what liberals brand as “horrifying”, where especially Trump is deemed horrible, and especially targeting his comments that he would not accept a possible loss as he argued that the election would most likely be rigged in favour of Hillary Clinton. The article then argues that another development is truly horrifying. The argument is made that, in coordination with Trump’s similar statements, mass immigration is causing a demographic trend which will ensure white people to be a future minority and therefore this election could be the last election in which a conservative candidate, or someone like Trump, could win. The idea of deliberate demographic change for future political power is underlined by statements such as “European- Americans are a colonized population being deliberately ground into extinction” (Radix Journal, 2016). The frame of loss is evident with more statements such as the following, “what is at stake is the bare possibility of survival for our people anywhere in the world” (ibid).

At the end of October the articles take on a more positive gain perspective with more references to Trump. ‘White Identity and the Future’ talks about how more white people are focusing on their white identity and therefore are voting for Trump. ‘Time for Heroes’ portrays the possible election of Trump as “an opportunity to wall out the invaders and put our nation first” (ibid). Although the possible prospect of loss is definitely emphasised as this election is, according to the writer, a choice for either “health, vitality, and life or to slide onward toward decay and death” (ibid), Trump is seen as the “great man” or the “hero” who “encapsulates the Faustian spirit - the soul of the West - which pushes past our limits to grasp for greatness even against the threat of damnation… and in doing so, through the strength of his will, he has opened up a future where defeat remains possible, but is no longer preordained” (ibid). In ‘The Napoleon of 49 the Current Year’, Richard Spencer praises Trump, but also emphasises the phenomenon that Trump represents and not so much the person himself. Spencer argues that “for us [the movement], and the world, the Trump phenomenon is much bigger than the man” (ibid). Trump is more a vehicle of and result of growing “deep unrest among white people that has been boiling for decades” (ibid). The frame of gain in this article is demonstrated by this idea of a growing common feeling among white people and underlined by the last sentence of the article in which Spencer triumphantly and sanguinely remarks that “tomorrow belongs to us!” (ibid).

The analysis for November 9 up to and including December 8 included ten articles. Four articles have been assigned with a frame of loss, five with a frame of gain, and with one article there was no evident underlying frame to be extracted.

In the month following the election of Trump, we once again see a higher number of articles with a frame of gain than articles with a frame of loss. However, this difference is minimal in this month, something which is partly explained by the low quantity of articles that were put online in this month. The frame of gain was extracted from articles such as ‘Texas-Sized “Safe Space”, where the Alt-Right movement is portrayed as a strong and popular movement. The president of the Texas A&M University announced an event in opposition to Richard Spencer who would appear on their campus for a Q&A (question and answer) with the university’s students. According to Spencer, “nothing demonstrates the power of the ideal of European identity than a reaction like this... Young might think that such a rally harms the Alt Right; to the contrary, it makes us stronger than he could possibly imagine!” (ibid). The organiser of the event adds to that by saying that “obviously Dr. Young didn’t get the message concerning the Trump election... white America made a statement!” (ibid). This article evidently falls under the category of a frame of gain as multiple indicators of the category are applicable, with a clear ‘motivational/empowering element’ and the idea that ‘the movement’s ideology is gaining popularity’. Furthermore, we can see an increase in frame of gain references to the political opportunity with regard to Trump’s political victory. For example, in Andrew Joyce’s article, ‘Why Trump’, he refers to the Trump campaign as having “brokered a new spirit of defiance

50 among the White masses, brow-beaten and exhausted by the silent diktats of political correctness and a slavish adherence to the political status quo” (ibid). He concludes his article by asking why Trump should be supported, followed by his own answer that “he may just unlock the future we have all been striving for” (ibid).

However, not all articles are coded as a frame of gain. The article by Richard Spencer, ‘Beige New World’, only mentions that, responding to a satirical video clip in which race-mixing is celebrated, these people “want white genocide after all” (ibid). Spencer responds to this video by pointing out a historical case in which race-mixing led to violence (after the Haitian Revolution when the French colonisers were overthrown). In another article, Spencer comments on the decision made by his former school to renounce him after he led a Nazi-style salute a couple of days before. Spencer sees this as committing “civilizational suicide even harder than before” (ibid) and is saddened by the fact that his former school changed from an overwhelmingly Anglo-Protestant school back when he attended it, to boasting that the school is 45 percent coloured. Whereas the first article’s frame of loss is indicated by the focus on ‘grim future predictions,’ the latter is a ‘reference to the negative current conditions’.

5.2 THE DAILY STORMER

5.2.1. 2014 DECEMBER

The analysis for December 2014 included one hundred and twenty-nine articles. Fifty-eight articles have been assigned with a frame of loss, seven with a frame of gain, and with twenty- nine articles there was no evident underlying frame to be extracted.

Most of the articles on the Daily Stormer are just unrestrained bigotry and racism, aimed mostly at black Americans, Hispanics, and Jews. In many cases there appears to be no underlying message that goes deeper than merely hate-speech towards certain groups of people. However, in most of the cases it is possible to extract one of the two predefined frames.

One example of an article with a frame of loss, is ‘Third World America: Detroit Loses Power’. The City of Detroit is portrayed as an example of what happens when a city’s demography changes from white majority to black majority. The article argues that Detroit “transformed from one of the most modern cities in the world into a city that mirrors what you would see in Africa”, a comparison in which Africa is viewed as a negative example (The Daily Stormer, 2014). This therefore falls under the indicator ‘references to the negative current conditions’. Another example of an article with such an indicator is ‘This is What a Real Holocaust Looks Like’. This article is accompanied by a map which shows US county percentages of individuals born abroad, aged 18 to 34. Especially in the south, bordering Mexico, the map shows high percentages of foreign born individuals. Andrew Anglin, the founder and main contributor of the website, claims that this is the real holocaust, arguing it shows that “an entire people [are] being wiped out by being invaded, robbed, raped and bred out of existence by invading hordes” (ibid). In another article, guest writer and former KKK leader, David Duke blames American torture practices and the 9/11 attacks on a Jewish conspiracy against the US, indicating the presence of a frame of loss. Duke concludes his article by arguing that “America can still once again rise up and take its position as a land of freedom and respect - but only if the claws of Jewish Supremacism are removed forever from Uncle Sam’s throat” (ibid). The frame of loss is also expressed in ‘The Cold Civil War: White-on-White Hate in America’, in which author

John Derbyshire describes differences of opinion between white people as a Cold Civil War. Derbyshire explains it as a “conflict between whites who see things like this and whites who see things like that, with coloured auxiliaries recruited by one of the sides to groom the horses and dig field latrines” (ibid).

A frame of loss is often present at the end of an article. A conclusion is often of a style such as the following, “there is nothing practical about this government and legal system run by Jews… it is simply a weapon used against the White race” (ibid). The overarching message of the Daily Stormer in most articles seems to be that the Jewish community is secretly orchestrating a “white genocide” (read: white people with a European background) and that they are manipulating society in order to reach this goal by pushing for diversity and equality. Anglin and his co-writers perceive this push as a threat to white people as the practical consequences of diversity and equality are an influx of people of African, Latin, and Middle-Eastern descent. Most of the articles refer to these conditions and act as a way of proving this theory. These conditions have an inherently negative connotation viewed through the lens of their ideology and therefore most of the articles in the Daily Stormer are coded as a frame of loss. The article ‘New York: Prison Guards to Protest Anti-White Rants by “Affirmative Action” Official’ illustrates this dynamic once more as Anglin argues that “the point of this article is to show that the system is anti-white… if this guy was white and said bad things about black people there would be a media frenzy… anti-whites let these things slide because they aren’t interested in “equality” – they are mostly interested in making us white folk a minority… we call it White Genocide because all of this “diversity” (but only in white countries and areas) is a deliberate agenda to turn us into a minority, which is genocide” (ibid).

Nevertheless, there are a few articles in this month that were coded as a frame of gain. In ‘Patriotic White Americans Stand Against Negro Agitators in Rural Missouri Towns’, the author comments on how a large group of white men protested a march by the National Association for the Advancement of Coloured People (NAACP). This article was coded as a frame of gain because it portrays the power and support their ideology has and it therefore has an empowering element for its readers. The author concludes “it is a good sign that we see white Americans standing up against these Marxist jackasses” (ibid).

5.2.2 2015 MAY 14 – JUNE 14 & JUNE 15 - JULY 14

The analysis for May 14 up to and including June 14 included one hundred fifty-two articles. Seventy-six articles have been assigned with a frame of loss, nine with a frame of gain, and with twenty-three articles there was no evident frame to be extracted.

Again, most of the articles have been coded as a frame of loss, with the occasional exception of a frame of gain. As an example of the latter, the article ‘Saida Grundy Told White Rape Survivor to “Go Cry Somewhere”’ concerns Anglin commenting on a Facebook row between Saida Grundy (a black woman) and Meghan Chamberlin (a white woman). Grundy, an assistant professor at Boston University, was forced to apologise for a comment she made about white college males being a problem population, which was already a “monumental victory” (The Daily Stormer, 2015) according to Anglin. The row between Grundy and Chamberlin led to Anglin having high hopes for more retribution. Anglin says that “if she is fired this will be a legendary win for the white race” (ibid). The frame of gain is emphasised again at the end of the article as Anglin explains that “sure, it is only one less noisy stupid monkey in the affirmative school system, but it is symbolic, showing that finally, saturation has been reached and the winds of change are blowing in our direction” (ibid). This direction, one can assume, is to the benefit of white people and therefore this article is coded as a frame of gain as it emphasises the idea that their ideology is gaining more momentum and support. The choice for the word “saturation” indicates that Anglin perceives the status quo to be a negative condition and that (white) people are slowly but surely getting fed up with this negative condition and therefore the future might witness some sort of change for the better with respect to their group. This idea of a change of minds due to “saturation” is also reflected in other articles. ‘Chicagogogogo: 49 People Shot Over the Weekend’ concludes with Anglin predicting that “the closer this stuff gets to home for the middle class white population, the more and more negro fatigue is going to set in” (ibid) and that eventually “these chickens are coming home to roost” (ibid). In the article ‘Negress Plans Lawsuit Over “Nigger” Receipt’, the author claims that the reason why only white people can be (called) racist is because “only non-whites would ever whine about a racial slur” (ibid). The author argues that white people do not complain if they are being racially discriminated because “the fact is that the same reason we don’t get offended – the same reason we are not insecure

54 about our race – is the same reason we have traditionally been in charge: because we are genetically superior” (ibid). This rhetoric indicates white supremacism and is coded as a frame of gain as it emphasises the strength of the group and movement.

However, these types of articles are outnumbered by articles with a frame of loss. In ‘German Scientist Writes Open Letter to Boston University Re: Grundy Fiasco’, the conclusion of the article predicts a negative future for white people. Anglin notes that “in the coming dystopian Negro future, we will be in cages tortured as we are told how much we are oppressing them” (ibid). In ‘So Now a Sports Mascot Holding a Sign Reading “Police Lives Matter” is Racist’, this dystopian, end of the world scenario is again predicted: “Our job was always to survive, not to change an ideology heading full-speed ahead directly in the path of an iceberg… this time, the ship won’t have a band to play while it sinks to the bottom of the ocean, but the captain will proudly play Michael Brown’s raps over the loud speaker until the rising water shorts the circuits out” (ibid).

The analysis for June 15 up to and including July 14 included one hundred and fifty articles. Seventy-four articles have been assigned with a frame of loss, eight with a frame of gain, and with twenty-three articles there was no evident frame to be extracted.

This month was also dominated by articles with a frame of loss. Most of the articles concern activities of the Black Lives Matter Movement (BLM). This is an activist movement that campaigns against violence and systematic racism towards black people. The movement began as a protest against police shootings but it now covers a wide range of issues. The cases in which Trayvon Martin, Michael Brown, and Eric Garner were shot and killed by white police officers spurred most discontent among mainly black Americans. Most of the articles on BLM are coded as a frame of loss because they refer to the marches as an illustration of the current negative conditions. Many articles focus on the violence that results from some protests. The article ‘Baltimore: Not Exactly the “300” Who Fought to Hold the Hot Gates…’ is an example as such. The author concludes that “when you understand what a joke the whole #BlackLivesMatter movement represents, you understand the tragedy of life in 2015 America” (ibid).

Furthermore, articles focus on Hispanic immigration in the south of the US. The article ‘Multiple Deportations Fail to Prevent Mexican Pathology’ concerns the issue of Mexican immigrants and the article states, in a manner that evidently indicates ‘negative current conditions’ and ‘grim future predictions’, that “the flood of brown sewage [metaphor for Mexican immigrants], the timer ticks down on the demographic bomb, there is not serious resistance to this unprecedented national suicide” (ibid). This frame of loss is again emphasised when a response is given to the news that a journalist was killed in a car crash caused by a Mexican immigrant who was deported three times prior to the accident as the article states that “another forgotten victim of the endless war on whites, the long campaign of white genocide that has been silently raging in our dead homeland ever since the disastrous Jewish century” (ibid).

There are some articles that refer to the political opportunity that Trump represents as he has just announced his candidacy (14 June). An example of an article that was coded as a frame of gain is the article ‘Trump Train Running Non-Stop to Total Victory’. The author mentions that “the Trump train has left the station and is running non-stop to total victory over the barbarian hordes of Mexico” (ibid). In the article ‘Mexican Rapper Releases Song Telling Donald Trump US Belongs to Mexico’, a Mexican rapper is being criticised for one of her songs. The song is a protest against Trump’s negative stance towards Mexican immigrants. The song, ‘We are Mexico’, has a video clip in which a Mexican flag breaks through a broken US flag while in the foreground a fist with a tattooed arm of South American nations is raised. However the article ends with triumphing the possible political ascendance of Trump. The article concludes by saying that “hopefully, this obvious declaration of war will bring more white support to Trump, who is our new savior [sic] and perhaps even the reincarnation of Hitler himself” (ibid). As this falls under the indicator ‘positive reference to the political opportunity’, this article is assigned with a frame of gain.

However, not all references to Donald Trump fall under the category of a frame of gain. In the article ‘Donald Trump Could Get GOP Nomination’, Anglin comments that Trump’s chances for winning the GOP are, although technically possible, very unlikely. Also, even if Trump would win, he would never beat Hillary Clinton as Anglin argues that “Her Presidency, and the hell which will come with it, are basically divinely ordained” (ibid).

Some cases are more dubious with regard to the allocation of one of the two frames. For example, ‘Black Crime Truth Leakage at ZeroHedge’, concerns the story of how a blogger mentioned the crime statistics in Chicago. This blogger explained that his children and wife 56 asked him why they were seeing predominantly black people in the mugshot section in the local newspaper. The man subsequently checked the numbers and was shocked by the statistics that 13% of US population is black, 37.6% of the prisoners are black, and that 71% of the shooters in Chicago are black. In this article it is explained as “the truth about race and crime [leaking] out in the most unexpected places” (ibid). On the one hand it could be coded as a frame of gain, as it is portrayed as if ‘the movement’s ideology is gaining popularity’. However, it could also be coded as a frame of loss, as, in their (white nationalists / Alt-Right) view, more people are becoming aware of the ‘negative current conditions for the group’s identity’.

For this reason, an extra coding rule has been created. If the coder can extract both the indicators ‘the movement is gaining popularity’ and ‘reference to the negative current conditions’, the article must be coded as a frame of loss, as there is no indication of a positive outcome and the negative conditions are still emphasised.

Another article that was difficult to code is ‘83% of Americans Against Obama Plan to Forcibly Diversify Neighborhoods’. Obama’s proposed law for more diversity within wealthy neighbourhoods is, quite surprisingly, supported by Anglin. The argument given for that opinion is that “when they’re getting their homes broken into, getting mugged and raped on the streets, they are going to be a whole lot less likely to push for black liberation and more immigration from the third world” (ibid). He concludes that therefore “the sooner this happens, the better” (ibid). The indicator ‘current negative conditions’ is clearly present in this article, whereas the ‘future negative conditions’ indicator also seems applicable. However, Anglin argues that in the far future this is necessary for eventual drastic change, that is, at a minimum, stopping further immigration. In this case, the first coding rule was followed as it prescribes that ‘a reference to a positive outcome in the future must always be coded as a frame of gain’.

5.2.3. 2016 OCTOBER 8 – NOVEMBER 8 & NOVEMBER 9 - DECEMBER 8

The analysis for October 8 up to and including November 8 included one hundred and fifty- nine articles. Forty-nine articles have been assigned with a frame of loss, seventeen with a frame of gain, and with thirty-one articles there was no evident frame to be extracted.

One month prior to Trump’s election as president, and in the heat of the campaigning period, the percentage of articles coded with a frame of gain increases significantly from an average of 10% to 26%. The frame of loss still dominates the overall narrative. For example, the article

‘Glorious Leader: Illegals are Being Let in to Vote Against Him’ comments that there might be plans for fraudulent activities by letting illegal immigrants vote for Hillary Clinton. It is coded as a frame of loss, as indicated by, amongst other examples, the following paragraph: “The reality is that unless pro-Trump activists keep a very close watch over the proceedings in this election, we’re sure to have it stolen from us. This is why it’s so important for our American readers to get involved in this election; the future of Western civilization literally depends on it” (The Daily Stormer, 2016). As the elections are only one month away, many articles concern Trump’s political opponent, Hillary Clinton. The article ‘Awesome: Media Worried Trump is Gonna Destroy Democracy’ concludes with an evident frame of loss as the author argues that “this election is a referendum on the future of Western civilization” (ibid). This sense of urgency indicates a frame of loss as this sentence implies that inaction would mean that the future of Western civilisation would be grim, or even collapse in its entirety. The article ‘Black Woman in 83% Black Detroit Puts Out Anti-Cop/Anti- White Halloween Display (But Takes It Down at Night So Blacks Don’t Steal It)’ concerns the story of a woman in the state of Detroit who had put up two dolls in support of BLM. However, in the interview she also mentions that she takes the dolls down at night and puts them back up in the morning in order to prevent them from being stolen. The author of the article warns the readers; “America, this is a glimpse of your future if nothing changes: black people putting out overtly anti-white displays and then taking them down at night so fellow black people don’t steal them” (ibid). This again indicates a frame of loss as the future is portrayed in a negative way. Another example of an article that is predominantly written in a frame of loss is “Hundreds of Philly Blacks Launch Pogrom Against White Temple University Kids, Jewish Media Trying to Cover It Up”. In this article, the complaint is given that “the Anti-Defamation League has millions of dollars to pursue a politically incorrect cartoon frog on social media, and yet, there is no interest in stopping actual real world racially motivated violence (as long as it’s against white people) on there” (ibid).

However, as noted above, there was an increase in articles with a frame of gain. The rhetoric in the article ‘Trump’s Gettysburg Address’ takes on an extreme form, indicating a frame of gain through indicators that refer to a better future with Trump as president. Trump’s speech in Gettyburg lifted the spirit of Andrew Anglin, stating that this is the “once in a lifetime – last

58 chance – now or never” (ibid), referring to the opportunity that Trump’s potential win would provide as “we are going to have an opportunity to press all sorts of issues… I am going to press for Jewish journalists to be rounded up and tried for treason, publicly hanged” (ibid). Anglin concludes the article with hopeful messages for its readers “we are so close now, people – it’s all happening” (ibid). The same optimism as a result of Trump’s success can be read in other articles. Another example is ‘Jewish Media Cries About Trump Supporters Using the NSDAP Term “Lugenpresse”’ in which the author concludes with the words “assuming Trump wins the presidency, we will have a real opening to start reversing the direction of Western civilization” (ibid).

Some articles also refer to the Alt-Right movement, indicating that the movement is gaining popularity. For example, ‘Cuck Faggot David French Cries About the Alt-Right on MSNBC’ mentions how Journalist David French and MSNBC are criticising the actions of members of the movement. The article ‘Good News: A Third of Trump Supporters Follow Twitter Nazis’ even argues that the Alt-Right has now gone mainstream, claiming that “things are only looking up from here – we are no longer an obscure minority, brothers” (ibid).

The analysis for November 9 up to and including December 8 included one hundred and fifty articles. Thirty-eight articles have been assigned with a frame of loss, thirty-four with a frame of gain, and with twenty-one articles there was no evident frame to be extracted.

One of the first articles ‘final map’ starts off with a frame of gain, mentioning Trump winning the election and claiming that the US is now a “populist-nationalist country” and that “this is TRUMPLAND” (ibid). In ‘Mr. Trump Goes to Washington’, Anglin is overwhelmed with Trump’s victory: “It’s just hit me, guys: this is actually happening in real life – we have won” (ibid). However, Anglin encourages his followers to not sit back and enjoy the victory for too long, but immediately looks forward: “But don’t get lazy, people… the party is over tomorrow… in fact, I am declaring the party over at midnight tonight… we’ve still got a whole lot of Jews and other undesirables in this country… and we need to fix that” (ibid). This could be interpreted as a frame of loss. However, the political opportunity that Trump creates is that this is an issue that can now potentially be

59 tackled. Therefore it emphasises, taking the other optimistic, cheerful text into consideration, a positive outcome in the future. In that case, the first coding rule must be followed which says that a positive future combined with negative current conditions should be coded as a frame of gain. Another example of this is the article ‘Trump Immigration Advisor: Mass Deportations Will Begin on Day One of Presidency’ in which the author notes that “we’re counting down the days to Trump’s inauguration… then you’re going to get a crash course into what happens when you finally start exhausting the prudence of very patient white people” (ibid). The article ‘Jew Faggot Drops N-BOMB on CNN While Hoax-Attacking Alt-Right’ responds to comments made by journalist Charles Kaiser who mentioned that Stephen Bannon asked his supporters to give the Nazi salute, something which was later acknowledged to be not true. The article attacks Kaiser, who is gay and Jewish, and warns that “as a gay Jew reporter he sees his tribe’s control of the mass media becoming more irrelevant every day, and this means that Jewish degenerates like him no longer set the standards for our governments, cultures and nations” (ibid), indicating a future improvement for the movement. This is then connected to Trump’s political ascendance as the author mentions that “if he’s already triggered, imagine how he’ll feel next January when The Leader [Trump] takes power!” (ibid). The article ‘Trump to Mock UN by Sending Them a Street-Shitting Paki Female’ praises Trump’s nomination of Nikki Haley as UN ambassador. Anglin sees this as a positive development as Trump “gets to send this Paki [Pakistani] female to an irrelevant job dealing with the soon-to-be disbanded UN” (ibid) and the replacement of Haley is even more morale-boosting for Anglin and his followers as it concerns a white male: “South Carolina’s lieutenant governor – who will be replacing the Paki – is a – you guessed it – WHITE MALE” (ibid). Another example of a frame of gain relating to Trump is ‘Trump Visits Carrier Plant He Saved from Mexican Parasites!’ which starts with Anglin writing that “Trump is not even President yet… We’re still 50 days away… and yet, he’s already saving America” (ibid).

5.3 INTERPRETATION

The total amount of articles that have been analysed is 838. Most of these articles were extracted from the Daily Stormer website, namely 740. The chosen time-period provided the study with 98 articles from Radix Journal. Taking into consideration the fact that not all articles were assigned with a frame – 72.5% were assigned with a frame for Radix Journal and 48.1% for the Daily Stormer – the conclusion is made that Radix Journal does not provide a sufficient amount of articles to make a causality claim on the independent and dependent variable. However, it 60 does add potential qualitative value. For that reason both platforms will be interpreted individually, as one offers potential qualitative value and the other offers qualitative and quantitative value, while combined they can provide an overall assessment of the relationship between the variables. In case of the latter, both platforms represent the Alt-Right and therefore the combination of the data of both platforms provides the study with the most insightful set of data.

Although Radix Journal provided a low number of articles, the inclusion of the platform has still led to some valuable insights. In both of the baseline months, December (2014) and May 14th up till and including June 14th (both 2015), 11 articles were coded as a frame of loss. In all the three months following Trump’s announcement on June 14th, 2014, the amount of articles coded as a frame of loss lay lower than that. The month after the announcement provided 4 articles with a frame of loss, the month prior to Trump winning the presidential election 9, and the month after provided 4. In addition, the amount of articles with a frame of gain were in the majority in all three months following the baseline. Whereas the baseline provided 22 articles with a frame of loss and 7 articles with a frame of gain, the months after, when combined, provided 17 articles with a frame of loss and 25 articles with a frame of gain. This information indicates that the arrival of Trump on the political stage led to an increasing use of a frame of gain. Whereas the difference in the first month was still rather minimal, only 2 articles difference, the last month of campaigning against Hillary Clinton provided the greatest difference with 5 articles more coded as a frame of gain. The month after barely showed a difference as there were 5 articles with a frame of gain and 4 articles with a frame of loss.

The individual statistics so far seem to prove the hypothesis. However, as mentioned above, Radix Journal alone does not provide enough articles to be confident of making such a conclusion. When the two platforms are combined, a better analysis of the results will be possible (see figure 9 and 10).

As figure 9 illustrates, the time-period June – July (read: June 15th up till and including July 14th) is the starting point from where the lines start converging. This means that the articles took on an increasingly gain perspective after Trump started to get politically involved. In the first month after the announcement, the difference is not yet too remarkable (see figure 10) with only a 3.9% decrease in a frame of loss and a 1.4% increase in a frame of gain. However, in the last month of campaigning against Clinton the amount of articles coded with a frame of gain increases by 8.2% and articles with a frame of loss decreases by 16.2%. The data indicates that while a frame of loss is definitely the dominating frame in the Alt-Right’s communication, the political opportunity presented by Donald Trump’s political ascendancy does affect the framing strategy. However, the data also indicates that the notion of a political opportunity is not as concrete and straightforward as expected. Trump ascended the political stage in June 2014, but this opportunity did not have an immediate impact on the Alt-Right in the subsequent month (see figure 11). This is supported by the fact that there were still relatively few references to Trump in both the Radix Journal articles and The Daily Stormer articles. This shows that it is important that political opportunities have to be first developed and perceived as a political opportunity for a movement. It could be argued that Trump did not yet have enough opportunities to really convey his political message. In addition, the fact that Trump was still one of many candidates running for the GOP might have also played a role as he faced more competitors that were trying to win votes. The data on the last month of campaigning against Hillary Clinton shows support for these propositions (see figure 12). In this month Trump had only one competitor. He had also made himself clear on a number of issues that pleased the members of the Alt- Right as he attacked Clinton for being corrupt,

63 promised to put a halt on illegal immigration, spread more doubts about Obama’s place of birth, and more promises regarding building a wall between Mexico and the US. Following Trump’s win over Clinton at November 8th (2016), the frame of losses decreases by an extra 4.4%, while the frame of gain more or less remains stable (minus 0.5%, see figure 13). At this point in time the frames converged the closest to each other. This shows that, although the frame still dominates over the frame of gain, that Trump’s political success, and the close anticipation of it, led to a considerable increase of a frame of gain and a decrease in a frame of loss in the communication of Radix Journal and The Daily Stormer. On the whole, as illustrated by figure 14, the results show that the three time-periods combined have a substantial difference compared to the baseline. In this study, the overall effect of the independent variable is that the dependent variable (frame) changes to the extent that there are 13.9% fewer frames of loss and 5.9% more frames of gain.

6. CONCLUSION

6.1 ANSWERING THE RESEARCH QUESTION

The research question of this study was as follows:

What is the effect of political opportunities on a movement’s framing strategy?

The importance and relevance of this research question was illustrated by the theoretical framework. Political opportunity theory established that opportunities, whether fixed or volatile, determine successful mobilisation. However, this study has argued instead that actually opportunities function as a condition for successful mobilisation and that the presence of a political opportunity alone will not suffice. In order to mobilise individuals, it has been argued that the theory of framing provides more valuable insight. Within that theory, the task of motivational framing functions as the crucial step that determines the difference between disengagement and engagement. Having established that, prospect theory offers an answer to what type of message could possibly be the most effective for the task of motivational framing as it proposes that a frame of loss would be most effective at mobilising people to undertake action. However, recent practice with regard to the case of ISIS has shown that movements can change their frame significantly from a frame of loss to a frame of gain and even increase their mobilisation success. With this case in mind, Arceneaux’s (2012) theory that the strength of the frame depends on the contextual information surrounding the message makes more sense. Based on this observation, the following hypothesis was presented:

To some extent the data supports the proposed theory. However, it should be noted that the frame of loss remained dominant in every month that has been analysed. Nonetheless, the independent variable affects the dependent variable substantially.

Therefore, the answer to the research question is that political opportunities do affect the framing strategy to the extent that ‘positive’ political opportunities increase the utility of a frame of gain and decrease the presence of a frame of loss.

Movements thus respond to emergence of a political opportunity and adjust their frame accordingly. However, it does not affect the frame strategy to the extent that the new strategy dominates the other. Furthermore, in order to have the most significant effect of a political opportunity on a movement’s framing strategy, it is necessary that the change is an evident political opportunity. One element that possibly determines the manifestation of a political opportunity is the type of electoral system, as a final campaign between two candidates, such as in the US, characterises the nature of the political opportunity.

6.2 LIMITATIONS AND FURTHER RESEARCH

This study has some limitations that need to be disclosed for the sake of transparency and in order to inform other researchers planning to continue to further develop or expand this theory. Firstly, the selected time-period was rather limited due to the time restrictions of this study. Secondly, whereas the Daily Stormer provided enough articles, the quantity provided by Radix Journal was limited. In addition to this, the inclusion of more platforms could have strengthened the analysis. As explained in the subchapter ‘universe’, many different figures and online platforms are affiliated with the Alt-Right movement and could just as well have been included for analysis. Further research could thus include all those platforms in order to get a better insight into the framing tactics of the Alt-Right as a whole.

Furthermore, as explained in the subchapters ‘interpretation’ and ‘discussion’, an important element that defines the nature of a political opportunity can be related to characteristics that are unique to a state. This affects the external validity. The nature of the presented political opportunity in this study relates to the political electoral system of the US and the political relations between oppositional political groups. Therefore, for example, a political campaign in a different state would not necessarily lead to the same effect on the frame strategy of a political movement.

While performing the analysis, the researcher was confronted with another possible problem that must be mentioned. In addition to the political opportunity that was presented by Trump’s political ascendancy, the study was confronted with other events that occurred in the same period. For example, Dylann Roof’s terrorist attack marked the month following Trump’s announcement for running as a candidate for the GOP. Many articles referred to this case and have therefore affected the frame strategy. In addition, a lot of articles also referred to the BLM movement. An inclusion of more months would have solved this problem, but in this study it

66 has had an effect on the data. The BLM movement often led to a frame of loss, while Roof’s attack had varying effects on the utilised frame. For Radix Journal it was sometimes a reason for a frame of gain, while the Daily Stormer usually referred to the attack in a frame of loss, arguing that it gave the opponents more reason to be demonise and therefore to undermine the white man.

Essentially, the question whether political opportunities affect the frame strategy has been answered positively. This study identified Trump’s political ascendancy as a political opportunity with positive characteristics as interpreted through the ideological lens of the Alt- Right. The broad distinction has thus been made between political opportunities that have negative characteristics and that would instigate an increasing use of a frame of loss, and political opportunities with positive characteristics that would instigate an increasing use of a frame of gain. Further research could elaborate on these types of political opportunities.

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APPENDIX 1 | CODEBOOK

See following page

Content Analysis Codebook

2019

For Coding Online Alt-Right Content

Alexander Royall

REVIEW CODEBOOK

Code Category Definition Indicators

1 Frame of loss In the case of a frame of loss, the ‘Glorification of the past emphasis is a reference point to emphasise the status quo’ ‘Negative status quo implying that the current conditions because of immigrants, and/or future conditions for the discrimination, or negative movement’s identity/ideology are economic conditions’ negative and/or will remain negative. ‘Grim future prediction conspiracy theories about the ‘other’ (Liberals, Conservatives, Mexicans, Arabs, feminists)’ 2 Frame of gain In the case of a frame of gain, the ‘Positive reference emphasis is a reference point to the political opportunity, political ascendance of implying that the current conditions Trump’ and/or future conditions for the ‘Increasing popularity of movement’s identity/ideology are the movement’s ideology’ good and/or improving. ‘Make America Great Again, bright future’ ‘Motivational/empowering elements, be the great white person you’re supposed to be’

3 Other There is no frame of loss or a frame of gain identified

Date

Date when the document has been issued. dd-mm-yyyy

Article

Title of the article.

Unit of Analysis

Theme.

Coding Rules

1. A reference to a positive outcome in the future must always be coded as a frame of gain. This means that when a reference is made to a positive past or a negative reference point, it must only be coded as a frame of loss if there is no reference to a positive outcome, i.e. an improvement of these conditions.

2. When both the indicators ‘the movement is gaining popularity’ and ‘reference to the negative current conditions’ can be identified in an article, this article should be coded as a frame of loss. For example, an article could be concerned about the fact that people are becoming increasingly aware of the negative (current) conditions. If there is no sign or indication provided in the article of a possible improvement as a result of this growth in feeling, the overall narrative remains one that is focused on the negative conditions.