<abstract xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml">

<p>In this article, we investigate the rhetorical uses and media frames associated with the term polarisation in Swedish print media from 2010 to 2021. We first produce a qualitative and detailed assessment of a sample of 240 articles and then proceed to a computational (word2vec) analysis of all major Swedish newspaper articles including the term (<italic>N</italic> = 32,805). We find that the term has changed its rhetorical function over time. Initially used to describe, – that is, used as a technical descriptor of events and issues in society – this use later became increasingly vague and general. Instead, it has been rhetorically used to <italic>amplify</italic>, implying a sense of urgency, conflict, or threat. Over time, the term has been used increasingly frequently, but has been applied less to Sweden and, instead, most often associated with political actors and events in the US. Moreover, we find that, for Sweden, the term polarisation was mostly related to social and political issues, whereas for the US, it carried affective associations.</p>
</abstract>

In this article, we investigate the rhetorical uses and media frames associated with the term polarisation in Swedish print media from 2010 to 2021. We first produce a qualitative and detailed assessment of a sample of 240 articles and then proceed to a computational (word2vec) analysis of all major Swedish newspaper articles including the term (N = 32,805). We find that the term has changed its rhetorical function over time. Initially used to describe, – that is, used as a technical descriptor of events and issues in society – this use later became increasingly vague and general. Instead, it has been rhetorically used to amplify, implying a sense of urgency, conflict, or threat. Over time, the term has been used increasingly frequently, but has been applied less to Sweden and, instead, most often associated with political actors and events in the US. Moreover, we find that, for Sweden, the term polarisation was mostly related to social and political issues, whereas for the US, it carried affective associations.

The uses of the term polarisation in Swedish newspapers, 2010–2021

Centre for Languages and Literature, European Studies

Nordicom Review

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.

{"article-title":"The uses of the term polarisation in Swedish newspapers, 2010\u20132021"}

In this article, we investigate the rhetorical uses and media frames associated with the term polarisation in Swedish print media from 2010 to 2021. We first...

The uses of the term polarisation in Swedish newspapers, 2010–2021

Published Online: Jan 19, 2024

Page range: 1 - 34

DOI: https://doi.org/10.2478/nor-2024-0002

Keywords
polarisation, Swedish newspapers, rhetoric, word2vec, news framing

© 2024 Mike Farjam et al., published by Sciendo

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.

The uses of the term polarisation in Swedish newspapers, 2010–2021

Published Online: Jan 19, 2024

Page range: 1 - 34

DOI: https://doi.org/10.2478/nor-2024-0002

Keywordspolarisation, Swedish newspapers, rhetoric, word2vec, news framing

© 2024 Mike Farjam et al., published by Sciendo

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.

Keywords
polarisation, Swedish newspapers, rhetoric, word2vec, news framing