Affective Spaces and Political Resistance through Cartoon Art on Thai Social Media: Reading Visuality and Political Emotions in the Post-Coup Context

Abstract

This study aimed to examine the role of digital political cartoons on social media as a medium of political communication, using the Facebook page “Kai Maew x” as a case study. This page had a significant influence on the Thai youth movement during 2020. A qualitative research design was employed, integrating interpretive content analysis and thematic analysis. The data consisted of 75 selected cartoons, chosen through purposive sampling based on predetermined criteria. The research objectives were: (1) to investigate how digital political cartoons published on social media functioned as “affective spaces”; (2) to analyze the political emotions conveyed through digital cartoons; and (3) to explain the structure of feeling manifested in digital political cartoons. The findings revealed that: (1) digital political cartoons utilized symbolic strategies, satire, and popular culture parodies to critique state power and effectively functioned as mechanisms of political framing; (2) the cartoons reflected diverse political emotions—including anger, grief, hope, and irony—consistent with the concept of affective publics, in which emotions played a critical role in shaping political communication; and (3) digital political cartoons reflected a structure of feeling at three levels: residual, dominant, and emergent, thereby illustrating the dynamic processes of political change in Thai society. In conclusion, the digital political cartoons from “Kai Maew x” were not merely creative works for entertainment but cultural instruments that played a vital role in framing discourse, creating affective spaces, and shaping emergent political sensibilities. These processes significantly influenced the dynamics of youth political movements in Thailand’s digital era.