Vem får prata? : Sociala sanktioner och politiken kring acceptabla åsikter

Sammanfattning

This paper examines the way social sanctions develop as mechanisms for maintaining and renegotiating norms of political tolerance in democratic societies. It also explains how individuals are met with social sanctions in public debates over political expressions and how these reactions shape boundaries of acceptable opinion. Based on John Stuart Mill’s theory of democratic ideals and a combination of John Elster’s theory of social norms and sanctions and Tajfel and Turner’s social identity theory, two well-known cases often associated with “cancel culture” will be analysed - J. K. Rowling’s statements on sex and gender (2020) and Colin Kaepernick’s protest during the U.S. national anthem (2016). The study applies a qualitative critical discourse analysis inspired by Fairclough on public statements, media texts and public reactions. Findings show that social sanctions play an important role in the definition of norm violations as well as in regulating political expression outside formal institutions. Interpretations of harm and tolerance vary across actors and contexts thereby providing competing moral frameworks and group-based boundary drawing. The paper thus provides evidence that political tolerance is not set but continuously negotiated through social sanctions, identity processes and discursive power relations.