Tesi etd-11052025-221525
Link copiato negli appunti
Tipo di tesi
Corso Ordinario Secondo Livello
Autore
VELAZQUEZ JURADO, EDUARDO
URN
etd-11052025-221525
Titolo
The normalization and legitimization of militarism in everyday digital spaces during peacetime: the case of the French and Finnish Army
Struttura
Classe Scienze Sociali
Corso di studi
SCIENZE POLITICHE - SCIENZE POLITICHE
Commissione
relatore Prof.ssa CASAGLIA, ANNA
Membro Prof. SOMMARIO, EMANUELE GIUSEPPE
Membro Prof.ssa CAPONE, FRANCESCA
Membro Dott.ssa POPIC, TAMARA
Membro Prof.ssa LORETONI, ANNA
Membro Prof.ssa CRISTIANI, ELOISA
Membro Prof. NATALI, DAVID
Membro Prof. BRESSANELLI, EDOARDO
Membro Prof. SOMMARIO, EMANUELE GIUSEPPE
Membro Prof.ssa CAPONE, FRANCESCA
Membro Dott.ssa POPIC, TAMARA
Membro Prof.ssa LORETONI, ANNA
Membro Prof.ssa CRISTIANI, ELOISA
Membro Prof. NATALI, DAVID
Membro Prof. BRESSANELLI, EDOARDO
Parole chiave
- Finland
- France
- Militarism
- Military Geography
- Social Network
Data inizio appello
25/11/2025;
Disponibilità
parziale
Riassunto analitico
This thesis analyses the phenomenon of militarism and how it relates to processes of legitimization and normalization of militaristic values during peacetime, focusing on the cases of the French and Finnish Army and their strategic use of social media platforms, specifically TikTok, Facebook, and Instagram. Drawing from critical military studies, military geography, popular geography, and affective theory, the study explores how military institutions leverage aesthetics, emotion, and popular culture to embed military values into civilian digital culture.
Using a qualitative methodology, the research analyses 106 social media posts from the French Army’s official recruitment accounts and a comparative corpus of 214 posts from the Finnish Defence Forces’ official social media accounts published between January and July 2025. These posts are examined through a multilayered approach, involving the lenses of critical discourse analysis, visual securitization, multimodal discourse analysis and critical geopolitics. The thesis identifies five main thematic narrative strategies employed by the French military: humour, influencers, gamification, military porn, and physical performance and sports. In the Finnish case, the main themes correspond to comprehensive security, cooperation and interoperability, affective mediation through animals, and music and cultural participation. Each theme demonstrates how the Armies construct a digitally appealing and affective resonant image of military life, which permeates into everyday practices and narratives.
The study contributes to emerging debates on digital militarism and post-militarism by showing how Western military powers, which operate in times of peace, deploy emotionally and visually curated strategies to retain public legitimacy and support. The thesis also broadens the existing Anglo-American-centric literature on militarism by focusing on France, a major European military actor, and Finland, whose model of universal conscription and Comprehensive Security offers a contrasting civic-oriented approach to defence communication within a NATO and EU framework. In doing so, it offers insights into the evolving geographies of military influence in the digital age.
Using a qualitative methodology, the research analyses 106 social media posts from the French Army’s official recruitment accounts and a comparative corpus of 214 posts from the Finnish Defence Forces’ official social media accounts published between January and July 2025. These posts are examined through a multilayered approach, involving the lenses of critical discourse analysis, visual securitization, multimodal discourse analysis and critical geopolitics. The thesis identifies five main thematic narrative strategies employed by the French military: humour, influencers, gamification, military porn, and physical performance and sports. In the Finnish case, the main themes correspond to comprehensive security, cooperation and interoperability, affective mediation through animals, and music and cultural participation. Each theme demonstrates how the Armies construct a digitally appealing and affective resonant image of military life, which permeates into everyday practices and narratives.
The study contributes to emerging debates on digital militarism and post-militarism by showing how Western military powers, which operate in times of peace, deploy emotionally and visually curated strategies to retain public legitimacy and support. The thesis also broadens the existing Anglo-American-centric literature on militarism by focusing on France, a major European military actor, and Finland, whose model of universal conscription and Comprehensive Security offers a contrasting civic-oriented approach to defence communication within a NATO and EU framework. In doing so, it offers insights into the evolving geographies of military influence in the digital age.
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