Abstract

Using Reed's (2013) concepts of relational, discursive and performative power, this study analyzed the Twitter presence of Hillary Clinton for the first six months of her presidential campaign, to examine how a woman aspiring to become a viable presidential candidate in the U.S. strategically uses Twitter as a communication platform. The analysis paid attention to the structure of her digital operation and the structural characteristics of her Twitter network as part of relational power, the thematic frames on her feed as part of discursive power, and the use of Internet memes during the Benghazi Congressional hearing as part of performative power. The results of this analysis paint a more nuanced picture of Clinton's use of the relational, discursive and performative power dimensions of Twitter, one that might not be equally transversal in all three dimensions, but instead reveals a heavier stress on the discursive and performative aspects of Twitter.