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Beatriz Buarque

Doctoral researcher 

University of Manchester | Fellow of Advance HE

critical security studies | digital politics | alt-right

critical affect-discourse analysis | Internet research

innovative and transformative pedagogies

Início: Bem-vindo
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Access the book chapter: https://www.polidemos.it/volume-4-2022/

On the spotlight

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BEATRIZ BY BEATRIZ

I was raised in the suburbs of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, and my love for Politics started in my childhood.

When I was 6 years old, I used to ask people for whom they would vote in the upcoming elections and, trust me,

I used to question their choices.

 

Curiosity and a strong sense of social justice have, firstly, influenced me to pursue a career in Journalism.

Ten years later, they brought me back to academia. At this time, aiming at exploring the ways in which digital media intersects with issues of race, gender, culture, and power. 

In Brazil, we usually say that Brazilians are essentially mixed race. Each Brazilian is the product of centuries of ethnic and racial encounters. Brazilians are also well-known for their resilience. No matter how hard life can be,

they don't lose hope. The diversity and resilience that constitute the hallmark of Brazilian culture have influenced in a decisive way my research expertise, my teaching style, and my ability to move between academia and industry.  

 

Beatriz by Beatriz?

Some acceptable definitions would be: I am an expert on the ways social understandings of truth have been exploited on the internet to advance a racist, xenophobic, and sexist agenda. I am a lecturer committed to inclusive and creative teaching practices. I am a researcher and lecturer who have made efforts to build bridges between academia, civil society organisations, international institutions, and media companies.

 I am Beatriz Buarque. 

 

Highlights

September 2019 - Now


Doctoral researcher - Politics
(University of Manchester
)

Supervisors: Martin Coward and Andreja Zevnik

Based on the assumption that discourses, in digital environments, can be legitimised through authoritative performance and visibility, I am investigating how and why cultural Marxism, the deep state conspiracy theory, the great replacement "theory," and white genocide have been legitimised in online spaces.

My research makes at least five contributions to different theoretical debates.

In terms of politics of truth, it offers a systematic analysis of how discourses can display strong affective investments and simultaneously be performed as objective truth, breaking the paradigm that objective truths are exempt from affects.

When it comes to the the ways in which digital media intersects with issues of ethnicity, race, gender, and power, my project illuminates how the commodification of affects has ended up benefitting white, western and masculine supremacy.

My project also makes a timely contribution to existing debates in world politics concerning the mainstreaming of racist, xenophobic, and sexist ideas, offering an explanation for the synergy between the alt-right and the broader far right.

Concerning critical security studies, my project demonstrates how authoritative performances of alt-right conspiracy theories have reinforced the entitlement expressed by some white/western individuals (especially men) to use violence (verbal or physical).

And, finally, by shedding light on belief and fantasies that underpin alt-right conspiracy theories, this project makes a contribution to cultural studies on conspiracy theories.

Now

GTA Trust and Security
(online - University of Manchester)

September 2022 - now

GTA World Politics since 1945
(King's College London)

Now
January 2022 - June 2022

GTA / Lecturer Conspiracy Theories and Democracy
(King's College London)

September 2022 - January 2023

GTA Questions about International Politics
(University of Manchester)

September 2021 - January 2022

Lecturer MA Digital Culture and Society
(King's College London)

September 2020 - January 2021

GTA International Relations and Politics
(University of Manchester)

May 2021 - Now

Digital Assistant
(Review of International Studies)

October 2018 - January 2022

Founder and CEO
(Words Heal the World)

Projects

MAFTI is an international group of scholars set up by me in April/2021

to map far-right media outlets, think tanks, and political schools

while examining the content produced by them.

Currently, I am in charge of examining the far-right "truth" industry in the UK as well as coordinating a team of six scholars who are covering the industry in Brazil, Netherlands, Germany, Italy, France, Russia, and

United States.


During the mapping exercise, we aim at identifying: links between the observed institutions and political parties; discursive strategies; geographical and social network trends.

maftigroup.wixsite.com/mafti

Publications

 

Articles

Buarque, B. (2022) 'Is it conspiracy or "truth"? Examining the legitimation of the 5G conspiracy theory during the Covid19 Pandemic', Social Epistemology.

Allington, D., Buarque, B. L., and Barker Flores, D. (2021) ‘Antisemitic conspiracy fantasy in the age of digital media: Three ‘conspiracy theorists’ and their YouTube audiences’, Language and Literature.

Buarque, B. (2018). 'From the battlefield to the ideological war: the story of a foreign fighter who nowadays prevents radicalisation'. Malala.

Buarque, B. (2016). 'The violence against Yezidi women: the Islamic State´s sexual slavery system'. Malala.

Book review

Buarque, B. (2022) 'The politics of fear: the shameless normalization of far-right discourses', Critical Discourse Studies.

 

Buarque, B. (2021) 'Reactionary democracy: how racism and the populist far right became mainstream', International Affairs.

Book chapters

 

Buarque, B. (2019). Breaking the vicious circle in the age of spectacle terrorism: the Words Heal the World project. In Piazza, G. (eds.)  Global Crisis: Local Voices. London: IJOPEC.

 

Buarque, B. (2018). Counter Extremism Project: a informação a serviço da paz. In Victor, C., Goktepe, M., Chiachiri, R., Elemen, Y. (eds.) Posições diante do terrorismo: religiões-intelectuais-mídias. São Paulo: Labrador.

Blogs

Buarque, B. (March 21st, 2022). Why some far-right circles are contributing to Vladimir Putin's disinformation campaign. GNET Insights.

Buarque, B. (March 03rd, 2022). Is it true? Is it fake news? Is it a conspiracy theory? A look inside the Ukrainian information war. Political Perspectives.

Buarque, B., Zavershinskaia, P., Scopelliti, A., Thomin, A. (November 10th, 2021). The banality of hate: how the far right legitimizes discrimination through images. CARR Insights.

Buarque, B. (September 2nd, 2021). Red Or Black Pill: How The Far-Right Appropriated The Matrix Metaphor. CARR Insights.

Buarque, B. (March 3rd, 2021). How Brazil's far-right 'active' knowledge industry supports Jair Bolsonaro. Open Democracy.

Buarque, B. (April 17, 2020). An anti-Semitic wave may hit the world in the aftermath of the pandemic. Open Democracy.

Reports

Words Heal the World (2020). The Hate Map of Brazil.

Words Heal the World (2019). The Hate Map of Brazil.

Events / Other activities

Consultancy

 

10/2020 - Facebook Policy Initiative: providing feedback

on Facebook's policy against misinformation


08/2019 - Facebook Policy Initiative: providing feedback

on Facebook's policy against hate speech

Paid Talks

27/07/2021 - The Future of Online debate: event organised

by Facebook and the cultural strategy agency Flamingo

Workshops

07/04/2021: (POR) "Um olhar sobre a ascensão 

da direita radical no século XXI" (A look at the

rise of the far-right in the 21st Century),

University of Brasilia (UnB - Brazil).

Available at: https://bit.ly/3rdau1M

Reviewer

Reviewed articles for: Ethnic and Racial Studies

Harvard Kennedy School (HKS) Misinformation Review

Awards

I have been awarded Fellow  of Advance HE in June/2021, confirming my commitment to excellence in teaching and learning while incorporating my research within academic practices 

I received £27,910 from the prestigious scholarship programme FCDO Chevening to complete my Masters in the UK in 2017

I was awarded the Transcendence Award on behalf of Words Heal the World for our efforts to empower young people to challenge hate speech in 2019

I am the recipient of the prestigious studentship offered by the Politics Department of the University of Manchester to investigate the legitimatisation of alt-right conspiracy theories in online spaces

The Luxembourg Peace Prize, an initiative from the Schengen Peace Foundation, recognized the efforts made by Words Heal the World to promote peace in 2020

Fellowship of Advance HIgher Education (FHEA)

ACADEMIC: FCDO CHEVENING
(United Kingdom)

TRANSCENDENCE AWARD
Michigan State University (USA)

ACADEMIC: UNIVERSITY OF MANCHESTER
(United Kingdom)

LUXEMBOURG PEACE PRIZE
(Luxembourg)

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