Manufacturing Crisis: Populism, Sovereignism, and the Digital Politics of Insecurity in Romania’s 2024 Presidential Elections
Summary
This dissertation investigates how populist actors weaponise insecurity to legitimise
sovereignist claims, with particular attention to the co-productive role of digital audiences in
this process. Focusing on Călin Georgescu’s 2024 Romanian presidential campaign, the study
explores how crisis narratives are not solely elite-driven but emerge through iterative,
emotionally charged exchanges within networked media environments. Anchored in the
premise that crisis is not external to populism but integral to its logic, the research traces how
Georgescu reframed the electoral contest as a moment of national reckoning, mobilising
discourses of betrayal, urgency, and dispossession. The analysis shows that Georgescu’s
campaign enacted a populist logic of antagonism, positioning “the people” against a corrupt
elite and presenting sovereignty as the only viable remedy. This securitising narrative extended
beyond the campaign, intensifying in the post-election period through participatory dynamics
on platforms like TikTok and Facebook. Audiences not only amplified Georgescu’s messaging
but became active co-constructors of insecurity. The study identifies three key findings: the
emotional and algorithmic traction of sovereignist discourse; the transformative role of digital
media in escalating perceived threats; and the iterative, bottom-up character of contemporary
securitisation.