This paper explores questions of division in terms of rhetorical maneuvres of exclusion. More specifically it examines the dynamic of dissent as resistance and resistance to dissent by elected representatives.

Drawing on theory on rhetorical citizenship, agency, dissent, and the rhetoric of listening, I study the exchange between elected politicians and dissenting citizens in mainstream and social media in current Danish public discourse about the refugee crisis. I focus on a recent case where a well-known author published a critical article about a tent camp for refugees. In response, the Minister of Refugees criticized the author in harsh terms on Facebook, essentially calling her a liar. Another MP wrote a scathing blog post about her. The Prime Minister alluded to her criticism in his Constitution Day address, accusing her of failing in her duty to love her country. Yet later that month, she was named “Copenhagener of the Year” by a newspaper for her activism on behalf of refugees. In an interview she responded to the Prime Minister’s suggestion that her dissent amounted to a lack of patriotism.

The paper suggests that there are examples where it seems that the ideals of a participatory public sphere are not honoured by politicians who instead use their position to combat particular dissidents. However, it may be the case that such bullying tactics on the part of the politicians can backfire in the sense that the dissident actually gains popular acknowledgment by virtue of being singled out for criticism by elite politicians.