ИНСТИТУТ ПРЕЗИДЕНТСТВА США И РОССИИ В 2000–2008 ГГ. КАК КОММУНИКАТИВНОЕ ЯВЛЕНИЕ

Abstract

Political power as such is of a communicative nature, the process of governing is exercised through the communication using the language and terminology accepted in the certain communicative community. The presidency institution can also be viewed and studied as a multidimensional communicative community, with the head of the state as the main actor. Besides the president, that communicative community also includes the president’s “team” (administration, advisors, speechwriters, plenipotentiaries, etc.), as well as certain media, especially journalists of the presidential pool. The presidential discourse is formed within the said community. Given the increasing complexity of the communication phenomenon in the contemporary world, the study of the presidency from the point of view of the communication theory seems to be an urgent scientific task. The paper uses examples of the United States of America and the Russian Federation to examine the institution of presidency as a phenomenon belonging to the field of political communication. By the term “communication” or “speech communication” the author understands the interaction of communicants – addressee and addressee, speaker and audience – through the verbal exchange of information with different purposes. The main object of analysis is the presidents’ annual oral addresses – “Addresses to the Federal Assembly of the Russian Federation” and “Addresses to the US Congress”.