Abstract

KESSLER, GABRIEL; FOCAS, BRENDA; ZARATE, JUAN MANUEL ORTIZ DE  and  FEUERSTEIN, ESTEBAN. The “divergent” in a polarized scenario. An exploratory study on the “non-polarized” in controversies about crime news on Argentine television. Revista SAAP [online]. 2020, vol.14, n.2, pp.311-340. ISSN 1853-1970.  http://dx.doi.org/10.46468/rsaap.14.2.a3.

The article aims to contribute to the debate on political polarization in Latin America, discussing the idea of the division of the whole society into two poles. We present the «divergent», individuals who, in contexts of interaction in which polarized controversies are generated, adopt positions of both communities. It is an exploratory study based on a mixed methodology: focus groups on crime in Buenos Aires and computational analysis of semantic polarization. Using a mixed methodology that integrates qualitative analysis and the application of a method to detect semantic polarization between Community 1 (Kirchneristas or Pro-Government on May 2020) and a Community 2 (Opponents) focuses on the «divergent». The main feature in common among the divergent is the «reflexive distance» from the media. This distance can be adopted in different ways such as a) moderate skepticism. b) appreciation of objectivity against polarization, c) positive consideration of polarization as pluralism and/or d) a disinterest in public affairs. By adopting this reflective distance, the divergent elaborates a third position, taking content from both communities. The article shows that the «third position» is more one of atitude towards the media than the building of a third differentiated political narrative.

Keywords : Polarization; Divergent; Media; Crime; Reflexive Distance.

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