The framing of politics in a Ukrainian comedy show: a populist appeal?

Abstract

ABSTRACT In this study we used computer-assisted (Atlas.ti software) quantitative analysis of framing politics in a popular Ukrainian television comedy show Vechernii Kvartal (VKv) to evaluate whether and to what extent it used populist frames in 2019-2020, after its star and director Volodymyr Zelensky won the presidency with populist narratives. We found that VKv offered a consistently populist perspective for looking at politics. Its main element was anti-elitist humor targeting both old politicians and political newcomers, including those from Zelensky’s party Sluha Narodu. The only exception was Zelensky himself, who was portrayed via the characteristic of populism people-centrist template—as a simple man genuinely caring about the people. We found no exclusionist framing, which is typical, for example, for European right-wing populist rhetoric and which discursively excludes all who are not natives (minorities, migrants, asylum-seekers) from a country’s “pure and virtuous people.”