Date of Award

Spring 2017

Thesis Type

Open Access

Degree Name

Honors Bachelor of Arts

Department

Political Science

Sponsor

Dr. Daniel Chong

Committee Member

Dr. Denise Cummings

Committee Member

Dr. Dexter Boniface

Abstract

This research examines how different types of political regimes shape the nature of the political satire produced under them. Unlike traditional journalism, the sly character of political humor may enable it to operate with more freedom than other forms of media while still providing social critique. This research examines three different case studies: the United States (democracy), Venezuela (semi-authoritarian), and Cuba (authoritarian) and evaluates their satire on how openly critical it is and what type of censorship it suffers. Through extensive content analysis of satirical work produced within the country, as well as a historical research into the censorship of its authors, I create a comprehensive account of the nature of political satire in that country within the past five years. This study finds that, while the nature of satire in democratic and authoritarian states is as to be expected, semi-authoritarian states experience an intense degree of political criticism comparable to that of a democracy.

Rights Holder

Victoria Villavicencio

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