Doomscroll with Joshua Citarella Doomscroll 40.5: David Adler
Feb 9, 2026
David Adler, an academic specializing in media, political communication, and Latin American politics. He traces the fading of decolonization rhetoric and how left parties misread mandates. He explains AMLO’s mañanera press strategy and how daily communication sustains movements. They explore media alignments that amplified social movements and how both left and right use the same communication tools.
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Decolonization's Disappearance
- David Adler observes that the 1970s decolonization project in the Global South shifted into defensive multilateralism rather than transformative sovereignty.
- He links this to a broader transformation where liberal democracy became the status quo defenders rather than challengers.
Left Defends A Flawed Status Quo
- Adler argues the left often becomes reactive, defending broken democratic institutions instead of offering redistributive alternatives.
- He hopes for honest debate about constitutional orders that acknowledge redistributive goals openly.
Control The Narrative Daily
- Use media to shift the Overton window by controlling the narrative through frequent, direct communication.
- Adler recommends daily press conferences to set the agenda and force media to respond to government messaging.