Abstract
This chapter closes the book by attempting to address two paradoxes. The first is why discourses of national identity and exclusivity are more prevalent today than previously, despite the fact that, as shown in Chapter 4, on average people have become more tolerant (or GAL) on a large number of social issues, including immigration. The second paradox is why resistance to globalisation in both Britain and in other parts of Northern Europe has taken the form of a defence of (typically national) cultural identity, rather than a rebellion against economic globalisation, despite the fact that the latest wave of globalisation has been accompanied by growing economic inequalities. The clue to solving these paradoxes, I argue, lies in exploring changing patterns of political communication, especially the way opinion formers and media perform a kind of gatekeeping function that determines which issues become salient.
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Notes
- 1.
Chantal Mouffe, The populist challenge, Democracia Abierta (5 December 2016). Available at: https://www.opendemocracy.net/democraciaabierta/chantal-mouffe/populist-challenge, accessed 16 July 2018.
- 2.
YouTube, Cambridge Analytica—The Power of Big Data and Psychographics, available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n8Dd5aVXLCc, accessed 14 July 2018.
- 3.
The Guardian, The Cambridge Analytica Files, available at: https://www.theguardian.com/news/series/cambridge-analytica-files, accessed 14 July 2018.
- 4.
At the time of writing, three people had been sentenced to custodial sentences because of death threats issued to the Conservative pro-Remain MP Anna Soubry on Twitter, although only one served prison time. See Eastood and Kimberly Advertiser (21 June 2018), available at: https://www.eastwoodadvertiser.co.uk/news/broxtowe-mp-receives-death-threats-in-a-card-1-9215993, accessed 16 July 2018.
- 5.
House of Commons Library, Membership of Political Parties (3 September 2018), available at: https://researchbriefings.parliament.uk/ResearchBriefing/Summary/SN05125, accessed 17 July 2018.
- 6.
Ibid.
- 7.
Ibid.
- 8.
Ibid.
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Wheatley, J. (2019). Conclusion: Making Sense of It All. In: The Changing Shape of Politics. Palgrave Pivot, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-03940-0_6
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