Learning by Example: A Comparative Case Study on Post-Truth Discourses Between the 2016 US Elections and the 2019 Dutch Elections

Sammanfattning: Earlier studies of populism in International Relations often used generalising concepts to analyse. They furthermore, tend to overlook the diffusive aspect contributing tied to the success of populism, which begged the question if IR theories possess the tool to analyse this success. The research question that followed and guided the research: Is there a process of learning between post-truth politicians, and can post-structuralism explain this process? By drawing on three fields of study within IR and by synthesising the theory of post-structuralism and the concept of learning this research created a comparative critical discourse framework applied to the anti-elitist and climate change narratives of Trump and Baudet. This thesis argues that post-structuralism as a theory helps to understand the discourse related to post-truth politics, but that it cannot pin down the diffusive aspect tied to its success which is why it needs to borrow concepts in order to achieve this. This thesis furthermore, argues that there is indeed a process of learning ongoing based on the similarities in post-truth discursive practices between Trump and Baudet.