ГУМОР ЯК ОБ’ЄКТ ПОЛІТОЛОГІЧНОГО ДОСЛІДЖЕННЯ

Abstract

The article examines the peculiarities of the political analysis of humor, its place, and its role in the concept of political culture. It is noted that humor is a component of the mentality of the Ukrainian people. It reflects the value-motivational level of political culture. That level determines the attitude towards government authorities, political parties, and other components of the political system which are relayed with the help of symbols. The article explores the place of humor in the concept of «laughter culture», according to M. Bakhtin. The author describes forms and types of «laughter culture», and functions that were an element of the desacralization of power, according to this concept. The author proposes humor features in the political sphere and its types and functions outlined both in Western and Ukrainian historiography. It is noted that Western researchers hardly use the concept of «political humor». In most cases, they talk about the peculiarities of the use of humor by politicians. The role and place of humor in politicians' speeches, the use of humor in political actions, protests, and various forms of political activism. They analyze political cases and specifics of humor in different countries. The author presents the concept: humor of power, the power of humor, which reflects the possibility of its usage for political purposes (both by politicians and society). At the same time, Ukrainian researchers consider humor a complex phenomenon, outlining its functional features, using «political humor» frame. The author proposes a classification of political science studies of humor according to the object-subject criterion. The author presents the following classification: studies devoted to political leaders and humor in political speeches; studies devoted to the forms of humor in political activity and the role of humor as a tool of propaganda and counter-propaganda; studies dedicated to humor as a tool of strategic communications; security studies - humor during armed conflicts; case studies devoted to the place of humor in different countries. Keywords: humor, political humor, political culture, political studies.