Democracy benefits from constructive, nuanced political discourse. But the lures of extreme, polarising rhetoric are often too great.
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Articles on Political rhetoric
Displaying 1 - 20 of 65 articles
Analysis of the rhetoric coming out of the Trump and Biden campaigns shows high levels or toxicity, particularly from the Republican.
Politicians often are firmly committed to what they say they will do – until they announce otherwise.
Both politicians are exploiting some tried and true rhetorical and psychological tactics.
Nikki Haley is the latest American female politician to shift her language, depending on whom she is talking to and where. But this tactic has a flip side, prompting criticism of her as inconsistent.
Moms for Liberty, founded in 2021 and now boasting 120,000 members, could ride its conservative, limited-government message to a position of strong influence in the GOP.
By focusing on the disruption caused by Just Stop Oil, politicians avoid having to talk about the substance of their argument.
For the Italian president, the region is where his nation’s constitution was born.
What started as a short military operation will now take years and years. Changing its tune is all in a day’s work for the Kremlin.
Perhaps the combination of religious rhetoric and secular laws is a winning electoral strategy.
Language can provoke violence between groups especially when people paint others as threats.
Supporters and volunteers love them. But it’s difficult for political scientists to determine whether they even influence the outcome of elections, since no two campaigns or election cycles are alike.
As he exits Number 10, an expert on political rhetoric looks back on the quotes that best illustrate Johnson’s premiership.
The US grows hardly any tropical fruit. So why are politicians and political commentators saying the country is at risk of devolving into a banana republic?
History brought Ukraine’s plight home to people around the world, and helped mobilize political and military support against the Russian invasion.
In a speech that touched on America’s darkest days and most inspirational leaders, Ukraine’s embattled president made a powerful call for stronger action on Russia.
Nkrumah’s rhetorical vision used the politics of the crowd to build a postcolonial community outside of the conscripts of colonialism.
Ancient Athenians and Romans also let shared mass tragedies propel justifications for going to war – even when it wasn’t clear what that violence would solve.
Empty chambers and cancelled conferences deny the public a vital feedback loop when politicians are presenting their ideas.
The president’s language sounded less presidential and more inflammatory in the weeks leading up to the riots.
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Professor of Communication and Journalism, Texas A&M University
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Associate Professor in Linguistics, Macquarie University
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Senior Lecturer and Senior Digital Learning Developer, UCL
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Associate Dean and Professor of Psychology, University of Memphis
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Vice Chancellor's Fellow and Professorial Fellow, Institute for Human Security and Social Change, La Trobe University
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Assistant Professor of German and Global Studies, Michigan State University
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Professor of Modern History, University of Leeds
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Associate Professor of Communication Studies and Affiliate Faculty in the Department of Rhetoric and Writing, The University of Texas at Austin
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Chief executive officer, Grattan Institute
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Assistant researcher, University of Sydney
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Assistant Professor of Corporate Communication and Public Affairs, Southern Methodist University
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Professor of Political Science, Georgia State University
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Associate Professor in Public Policy and Administration, Boise State University
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Professor, University of Montana
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PhD Researcher in Performance and Politics, University of Surrey
