Anna Schwenck’s research lies at the intersection of cultural and political sociology. She is particularly interested in how cultural understandings, be they transnational or locally specific, shape political behaviour. She studied the resonances between authoritarianism and neoliberalism in Russia, pandemic and science skepticism in German-speaking countries, and processes of re-traditionalization in popular music cultures. Her recent work investigates the role of liberation songs and narratives in conventional and contentious politics in South Africa.
Oops! Something went wrong while submitting the form.
Research Topics
Flexible Authori- tarianism
Lending itself to both a form of government (Herrschaft) and group organization or leadership styles that favor obedience over debate, authoritarianism has made a comeback in recent years...
Protesters often find themselves opposing the state or corporations. Usually they lack the material and symbolic resources the latter have at their disposal; yet, as my research examines, protesters can draw on alternative sources of symbolic power, such as images or popular music....
By legitimation I mean the processes through which political rule becomes tolerated or supported by different groups of people, temporarily resulting in the shared belief that politico-economic arrangements are righteous...
I believe that social researchers must cultivate genuine interest in people’s lives and everyday struggles in order to develop concepts that adequately explain social life...
By clicking "Ok, got it", you agree to the storing of cookies on your device to enhance site navigation, analyze site usage, and assist in marketing efforts.