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• Exploring the possible expressions of social dominance in an online context: Discourse analysis below the video contents of the representatives of Finn’s Party

  104-127

  Márton Markovics

  Views:

  169

  In the course of the study, discourse analysis was used to examine the comments posted under the videos of three representatives of the Finns Party with the largest YouTube following. The aim of the research was to identify discoursive manifestations of social dominance in the comment field. In addition, we also aimed to validate a word list of socially dominant terms. To this end, we have identified four linguistic categories that could form the basis of socially dominant communication, based on the literature of social dominance. The words with the highest number of elements in each category were presented in a word cloud. After collecting the most frequent terms, three external groups were identified against which social dominance orientation may be relevant. These suggest that the European Union, immigrants and the domestic left may constitute the out-group category in the eyes of populist supporters. Finally, the hierarchical terms were not validated as they occured in a negligible number of items in the sample. The successfully validated categories were plotted on a cross-tabulation, from which we created four different types of Finns Party supporters based on the out-group they named and the dominant common words and phrases in the comment categories. The presence of authoritarian, political out-group category points to the spread of political polarization in Finland. Since social identity underlies both social dominance orientation and political polarization, it may be relevant to examine both together in future research. Nonetheless, social dominance was not expressed in the way that was initially assumed and commentators perceived “real Finns” as the sufferers of a socially dominant situation. The background to this phenomenon is presumably the populist political rhetoric of the Finns’ Party, which tries to portray Finns as people left behind in disadvantaged social positions.

• East or West? Finnish national identification in the light of historical narratives

  1-25

  Márton Markovics

  Views:

  13

  The study presents the main milestones in the formation of Finnish national and state identity, the process of building the Finnish nation state, based on the regional archetypes of historian Jenő Szűcs and researcher Antonsich. The analysis of the literature presents four main identity narratives of Finland. These narratives do not follow each other chronologically, but are time-to-time reinforced at different historical periods and turning points. These narratives include: „Finland has always been part of the Western world,” „Neither East nor West,” „Finland as a bridge between East and West,” „Finland as a northern country.” During the study the influence of Eastern and Western European historical developments on Finland’s historical self-identification, described by Szűcs, is highlighted, which includes both Eastern, Byzantine (Russian Empire) and Western (Swedish Empire) elements and symbols. In various approaches, we view identity conveyed by the state as a construct that was created under the influence of the ruling elites of the time, but for the purpose of forming and strengthening national identity. These elites mainly used folk motifs and social identities that have strengthened the sense of belonging to the nation among the predominantly agrarian population of Finland. After all, the national identity expressed by citizens and the identity narrative conveyed by the state can influencing each other resulting in a stronger sense of identity and identification. In the case of Finland, the most significant events influencing the formation of national identity include the wave of Russification that began at the end of the 19th century and the policy of Finnish neutrality that developed during the Cold War. The former led directly to the creation of the Finnish nation state, while the latter represented a kind of forced return to Eastern identity, reinforcing the narrative of Finland as a bridge between East and West, which is also often emphasized in the case of Hungary. Today, Finland’s identification with the West is clearly pronounced, but nationalist, populist ruling parties, primarily the Finns Party, are promoting narratives that once again bring the „neither West nor East” approach to the fore. In addition, the national populists emphasize Finland’s marginality and separateness, which is manifested in the emphasis on efforts to break away from the European Union.