Who “cares”? Analyzing the ‘ethics of care’ in social media communication of French presidential candidates (2022)

The ethics of care has sometimes been presented as a tool with potential to rebuild politics in a way that is more inclusive and responsive to citizens. However, few research have investigated the political ethics of care empirically, and even less have focused on political leadership or political communication practices. In this paper, drawing on political care theories and empirical data, we suggest a conceptualization of the ethics of care in politicians’ communication on social media. We use textual content analysis to determine to what extent and how 2022 French presidential candidates contribute to the construction of a leadership style inspired by an ‘ethics of care’ in their political communication on Twitter, depending on gender identity and party affiliation.