Uncivil political discourse in televised election debates in the Netherlands from 1981 to 2023

The study of political communication in the current international situation is in the focus of the interests of many sciences, including psycholinguistics. The article is devoted to the study of modern political Internet discourse as a specific form of communication. The general approaches to the phenomenon of discourse in modern linguistics are covered. The concepts of "political discourse" and "political Internet discourse", their similarities and differences are clarified and analyzed from the point of view of system-forming features and cognitive-discursive activity of communication participants. The peculiarities of nominative metaphors used for naming political events participants and their potential for speech impact in conditions of "information warfare" are investigated. The author stresses the fact that the correctly chosen method of speech influence can significantly affect the political views of the addressee. The article concludes that political Internet discourse is a syncretic phenomenon that modernizes and transforms the functions of political communication through the possibilities of the Internet. The dominant role of the factor of noninstitutionality, informativeness, emotionality, semantic uncertainty and theatricality of the political Internet discourse is emphasized by the functioning of political metaphors reflecting the specific characteristics of the object and having a psychological effect on the recipient. The specific characteristics of communication and the peculiarities of cognitive-discursive activity of political event participants allows us to distinguish the political Internet discourse as a separate type of dis-course.

In today’s day and age, the social media platforms like Facebook and Twitter have converted a rather conventionally one way ‘political communication’ process into an effective and influential two-way communication process. This two-way communication process has an impact on the political communication phenomenon all around the world. Bearing in mind this aspect the researcher has attempted to explore how and to what extent the ‘public discourse’ matched or differed from the ‘political discourse’ regarding the political ‘regime change’ in Pakistan that took place in the first half of the April 2022. Employing the ‘Framing’ as theoretical basis the researcher has attempted to determine how the ‘regime change’ was framed in the political and public discourse. The researcher has employed thematic analysis as methodological tool in this study to identify, analyze and interpret the meanings within the political and public discourse in the backdrop of the ‘regime change’ appeared in the Facebook pages of the top three political parties in Pakistan i.e. Pakistan Tehreek-E-Insaaf (PTI), Pakistan Muslim League- Nawaz (PML-N) and Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP).

This study aims to reveal the role of metaphors in political discourse, and the impact of metaphors on political discourse. To achieve the aims of the study, the following topics have been reviewed and analyzed: the notion of understanding how metaphors shape political discourse, analyzing the impact of metaphors on political decision-making, examining the cultural and historical context of political metaphors, identifying potential biases in political discourse, types of metaphors in discourse, politicians use of metaphors in political discourse, and reviewing previous studies conducted on metaphors in political discourse. The findings revealed that in political and presidential discourse, metaphors play a significant role in shaping public perception and opinion. Metaphors have the power to frame issues and shape narratives, influencing how people interpret and respond to political messages. Political leaders often use metaphors to communicate complex ideas and evoke emotional responses from their audiences. In addition, there are three important purposes for using metaphors in political contexts: (1) To simplify complex ideas. (2) To create emotional impact. (3) To enhance persuasive power.

Relevance. Since the modern world is constantly transforming in terms of linguistic means, i.e. communication is undergoing several changes, there is a high need to study the national peculiarities of political gender discourses. Purpose. The study aims to provide a national interpretation of political discourse regarding gender aspects manifested in the context of linguistic and communicative parameters in the speech activities of male and female politicians. Methodology. The study analyzed political speeches by Kyrgyz and British politicians, examining linguistic parameters such as hesitation, categoricity, irony, and tone, to compare gender-specific communication strategies in both countries' political discourses. Results. This study presents the national specificity of Kyrgyz and British political gender discourse. The analysis identified the main differences between the speech activities of men and women politicians. In the Kyrgyz political discourse, men are characterised by hesitations, categorical and directness, irony, raising the tone of voice, active metaphorisation and hidden meanings. British political discourse in terms of male communication is characterised by a high degree of categoricity, almost no pauses, active use of irony, metaphorical and implicit means, and a moderate degree of emotionality. Conclusions. The Kyrgyz discourse reflects "soft power" approaches, while the British discourse shows women more actively defending their positions. Both discourses employ metaphorical language. These findings highlight the interplay between gender, national culture, and political communication styles. Keywords: speech; linguistic resources; implicitness; categoricity; emotionality

The subject of the article is the history of discourse development, the current situation, the characteristics of language at different stages, and its problems. The object of the study includes various practices of political media discourse in Chinese and foreign communication space, including traditional media, documentaries, virtual space and other media. We accomplished the following tasks in the research : 1) Described the history of the development of political discourse in China and the characteristics of each stage of its development in both Chinese and international dimensions. 2) Identified the problems and challenges facing the development of Chinese political discourse at present. 3) Attempt to find ways to solve the problems of discourse development and look into the future. The paper uses the methods of case analysis, comparative and descriptive analysis, as well as generalization and outline. Critical discourse analysis, multimodal discourse analysis, cognitive linguistics, narrative theory and intercultural communication methodology served as the theoretical basis. The scientific novelty of the study lies in the fact that it presents a comprehensive picture of the development and transformation of Chinese political media discourse in recent years from a macroscopic perspective, and summarizes the features and new trends in Chinese political communication. The results of the study show that Chinese political media discourse has achieved the transition from unidirectional ideological output to diversification of content and form. From a linguistic perspective, it can be determined that Chinese political media discourse at this stage faces developmental challenges such as monotonous vocabulary, limited narrative, lack of audience adaptation and cultural differences. In the context of the new era, Chinese political media discourse should enrich vocabulary and sentences, utilize different linguistic styles of speech, change narrative perspective and adapt to cultural differences.

Reviewed by: Reading Acts in the Discourses of Masculinity and Politics ed. by Eric D. Barreto, Matthew L. Skinner, and Steve Walton Hanna Stenström THS eric d. barreto, matthew l. skinner, and steve walton (eds.), Reading Acts in the Discourses of Masculinity and Politics (LNTS 559; London: Bloomsbury T&T Clark, 2017). Pp. xvii + 186. $114. “Luke’s second volume tells a story about power.” These are the introductory words of Reading Acts in the Discourses of Masculinity and Politics, which form the point of departure for the book. Acts tells a story about the power of God and stories about political power where Roman officials, and thereby the Roman Empire, play crucial roles (p. xi). In addition, Greco-Roman understanding(s) of masculinity—where power over non-men as well as self-control are fundamental—are operative throughout Acts, for example, in constructions of central characters and in constructions of Christian identity. “Masculinity” and “politics” are therefore suitable foci for reading Acts (p. xii) and are chosen as topics for this volume. The majority of the contributions are edited version of papers and responses presented in the Book of Acts section at the Society of Biblical Literature Annual Meetings in 2013 and 2014. The volume begins with customary information about abbreviations and contributors [End Page 558] followed by Eric D. Barreto’s “Introduction.” Barreto introduces the essays and the work’s topic and aims. The emphasis is on discourses of masculinity and politics in the text of Acts (pp. xi-xii) and in the context where Acts was written. The aim is not to open totally new ground but to continue work on Acts, politics, and masculinity with new methodological tools (p. xvii). Barreto emphasizes that the story about Acts and power continues. It continues when interpreters of Acts realize that, and how, their understandings of power, politics, and gender influence interpretations and when interpreters reflect on the possible contemporary relevance of Acts’ story of power (p. xii). The following essays are divided in two parts: “Warts and All? Acts in the Discourses of Masculinity” (four essays, no responses) and “Empowering, Engaging or Distancing? Acts in the Discourse of Politics” (three essays, two responses). Part 1 begins with Christina Petterson, “The Language of Gender in Acts.” Petterson explores how grammatical gender and gender as a social construct are interwoven in the narrative of Acts and mutually reinforce each other in the construction of masculine subjects. The theoretical framework of “language ideology” makes it possible to ask for connections between use of language and ideologies (of gender and class). The next three essays relate to earlier studies of Acts and Greco-Roman ideals of elite masculinity: Colleen M. Conway, “Taking the Measure of Masculinity in Acts”; Brittany E. Wilson, “Contextualizing Masculinity in the Book of Acts: Peter and Paul as Test Cases”; Christopher Stroup, “Making Jewish Men in a Greco-Roman World: Masculinity and the Circumcision of Timothy in Acts 16.1–5.” All three want to avoid the choice between alternatives: that Acts either embraces contemporary ideals of masculinity or rejects them in favor of an alternative masculinity. Conway argues that central male characters enact masculinity in spite of violations to their bodies that would normally have deprived them of their masculinity. Wilson claims that Luke formulates a “refiguration” of ancient elite understandings of a real man “in order to further his larger theme of God’s paradoxical power in Jesus” (p. 30). Stroump interprets the circumcision of Timothy in relation to Greco-Roman understandings of Jewish men as feminized through circumcision and to Jewish understandings of circumcision as a non-negotiable element in Jewish masculinity. Thereby, Timothy becomes the example of a new, Christian masculinity. Part 2 begins with Steve Walton, “The State They Were In: Luke’s View of the Roman Empire,” first published in 2002, an overview of scholarly understandings of the Roman Empire in Acts. Matthew L. Skinner (“Who Speaks for [or Against] Rome? Acts in Relation to the Empire”) offers an overview of scholarly understandings of the Roman Empire in Acts after 2002. The overviews are followed by a case study, Bruce W. Winter “Paul and Roman Law: ‘The Luck of the Draw...

The article deals with the metaphorical image of the future of Russia in the context of anti-Russian sanctions. The study of the image of the future is performed on the material of Chinese non - institutional political Internet discourse. It is defined as a hybrid format of media and political discourses that transmits axiological attitudes of agents of electronic - mediated communication and provides their status equality. The web - based opinion exchange service 知乎 (Zhihu) is used as the source of research material. The aim is to analyze the meanings of political metaphors that are verbalized when modeling images of the future of Russia and its anticipated relations with other powers. The object of the research is metaphorical models involved in conceptualization of the image of Russian future in the Chinese non - institutional political Internet discourse. The analysis of the material is held within the framework of linguistic political prognostics. The article presents the study of the system of metaphorical models, which is fixed in Chinese non - institutional political Internet discourse about the future of Russia. The paper employs the methods of metaphorical modeling, linguistic, cultural, cognitive and discourse analyses. The analysis of the system of metaphorical models contains quantitative and content processing. The authors identify and analyze dominant metaphorical models and factors that influence activity of certain models in Chinese political Internet discourse. Dominant models include metaphors of inanimate nature, relationship, organism, sport, games, wildlife, and monarchy. The analysis of the system of metaphorical models proves that the present relationship between Russia, America and Europe determines their “dark” future, which is why metaphorical units with a negative component prevail, while positively colored metaphorical units model the “bright” future of Russian-Chinese relationships, which is determined by the existing relations between Russia and China.

A great deal of attention is paid to the problems of political discourse because political discourse is the most frequently used event in society. The impact of speech on political discourse is discussed within the framework of political linguistics, pragmatic linguistics, discourse theory and psychology. The relevance of the topic of this article is due to the increased interest in the problem of manipulation of public opinion. As E. Siegel points out one of the clear manifestations of power is the monopoly on information and the right to speak. The ability of language to shape the worldview of the public plays a big role in the mentioned case. In this regard, one of the characteristic features of research in the field of political communication is that language is perceived as a means of achieving a pragmatic goal: to manipulate the addressee's cognition. Thus, we can talk about the strategy of manipulation. The great role of metaphors is noteworthy here. This article is devoted to the impact of speech with a metaphor, the source of which is the sports concept "loser". This metaphorical unit has a negative connotation and contains a strong emotional signal.

The analysis of cultural context in media texts can contribute to understanding how national images are constructed in the international media discourse. The image of a country is better understood by the audience of another country when it is introduced through familiar cultural concepts and well-known experiences so that specific, culture-bound elements of the other culture are brought closer to the target audience.The research provides linguo-cultural analysis of Russia’s portrayal in political media discourse in English-speaking countries drawing on the approach to political discourse as the process of production and interpretation of a text in meaningful political, social and cultural context.The study is aimed at exploring British and U.S.A. mass media to reveal typical features of the English-language political discourse concerning Russia and to find out how Russia’s image is constructed. In the course of the study we examined culture-bound lexicon in texts of various genres of political discourse in mass media focusing on Russia. Further, the use of Russian culture-bound items without translation in British and American mass media was analyzed, and such items were classified into categories according to their contextual functions.The results indicate that Russia is deeply integrated into the cultural context of the English-speaking audience; it can be said that Russia’s image in the Anglophone political media discourse is outlined with the aid of various cultural-bound associative, connotative and metaphorical links which are familiar for native readers and serve them as a bridge facilitating their understanding and interpretation of Russian culture.

The article examines the key differences and similarities between political and diplomatic discourses, their goals, functions, as well as linguistic features. Particular emphasis is placed on the analysis of lexical and grammatical means used in both discourses and their role in achieving communicative goals. Political discourse is oriented towards a mass audience and is aimed at attracting support and shaping public opinion. In contrast, diplomatic discourse is characterized by restraint, neutrality and a desire to find compromises in interstate interactions. Diplomatic and political discourse have many intersections, and they complement each other, but their communicative acts and goals differ a lot. The differences and similarities considered allows to gain a deeper understanding of the mechanisms of communication in these areas and their impact on public perception and international relations. The study employs methods of content analysis, discourse analysis, comparative analysis and lingua-stylistic analysis. The results reveal the main stylistic features and communicative functions of each type of discourse. The obtained results allow us to deepen our understanding of the essence and role of political and diplomatic discourses in modern society, and they can also be useful for specialists in the field of political linguistics, international relations, intercultural communication and translation.

The article examines gender stereotypes and speech aggression in political discourse, reflecting generalized judgments about the qualities and properties inherent in men and women, and the differences between them in the modern information society. This study is devoted to gender differences in the manifestation of aggression in political television debates, thereby revealing gender differences in aggressive behavior, stereotypes and features of linguistic manifestations, as well as communicative strategies present in the speeches and television debates of female and male politicians. This article analyzes the problems of gender stereotypes in the modern information society, the academic significance of which is associated with the need to study the factors of political culture and discourse. In this sense, the analysis of the nature of political power, its resources and methods of its legitimacy have not been sufficiently studied in terms of the role of political, social and cultural discourse in maintaining gender stereotypes and the gender agenda of the modern information society. In social terms, the relevance of the problem is associated with the need to study those resources of political power that do not involve open violence, but, nevertheless, act as an effective means of social control and a tool actively used, in particular, in political struggle. The implementation of a political analysis of the role of gender stereotypes in the modern information society involved studying their properties, content and functions, identifying the conditions and reasons that allow them to act as a factor in political relations and social inequality.

Translation serves as a potent yet often overlooked force in political discourse, shaping global narratives and mediating information across linguistic and cultural boundaries. This introduction explores the transformative potential of translation as a form of activism and identity construction in political discourse, delving into its ability to challenge prevailing narratives, amplify marginalised voices, and foster a more inclusive and empathetic global dialogue. Drawing on the insights of George Orwell and John Searle regarding the potency of language in political manipulation and power dynamics, the study illuminates the transformative role of translation as a catalyst for change and cross-cultural understanding. It underscores the significance of activist translation, particularly within Chinese contexts, an area that remains relatively underexplored in scholarly discourse. Structured into three sections, this introduction initially traces the historical underpinnings of activist translation within political and religious discourse, outlining translation's transformative power. The second section analyses how translation influences cultural transmission and identity construction on a global scale. The third section portrays activist translation as a driver of inclusivity, amplifying marginalised voices, dismantling systemic inequalities, and advocating for equality worldwide. Looking ahead, the conclusion outlines challenges and future directions in political discourse translation, emphasising the necessity of maintaining ethical portrayals of cultural identities and addressing cross-cultural misunderstandings. The introduction concludes with a list of references, offering key perspectives to inspire further research in the realm of political discourse translation.

The term bioeconomy has been generated as a new discourse in the environmental policy arena. This paper raises three questions: (i) are environmental concerns integrated in the political discourses of bioeconomy and, if so, to what extent?, (ii) in which way is the environment framed in the political discourses of bioeconomy?, and (iii) are environmental concerns considered in the political discourses on forest-based bioeconomy? The theoretical framework of this paper builds on the cognitive approach of policy integration and on frame analysis. The empirical research design is a comparative qualitative analysis of five different political bioeconomy discourses in the EU and four different EU member states – Germany, Finland, France and the Netherlands – in general and in the forestry sector specifically. Results show a weak and mainly rhetorical integration of environmental concerns in political bioeconomy discourses. Three major environmental frames are identified: (i) The dominant frame of 'Environment benefitting from economic growth', (ii) the 'Environment as a challenge' and (iii) the less visible 'Environment as a standard' frame. In general, these frames address the environment mainly as a challenge or something that needs to be safeguarded with the help of the bioeconomy. With the exception of Finland, amongst the countries studied, forests plays only a minor role in bioeconomy discourses while environmental concerns in this strand of discussion are mainly focused on sustainability arguments in general.

The aim of this article is to contribute to the debate on global prosperity in the post-GDP world, with specific attention given to the political discourse and intellectual debate on ecological civilization in China. I will first assess the national and international implications of assuming that China as a whole is a ‘locality’. I will then focus specifically on one of the most significant political and intellectual debates in Chinese studies today, namely the social and environmental challenges linked to China’s political and socio-economic development. In this light, I will engage with the debate on the Anthropocene - the era during which humans have become an earth-altering force – and its interrelationship with the discourse on ecological civilization. In China, the term ‘ecological civilization’ appeared in the 1980s in the academic domain and was then appropriated by political discourse. This article proves that the concept of eco-civilization, in a similar way to the Anthropocene, has a significant discursive power: it allows for a shift from the binary political economy discourses of ‘growth’ versus ‘development’, and ‘socialism’ versus ‘capitalism’, to the inquiry of eco-socially sustainable prosperity. The final aim of this article is both to offer a more nuanced analysis of the relationship between the political discourse and academic debate, and to substantiate the rhetoric trope of ‘Advancing Ecological Civilization and Building a Beautiful China’.

This edited volume explores the discursive, performative and mediated dimensions of contemporary political discourse. The strengths of the volume are manifold: it contains cutting edge interdisciplinary research on political discourses by international authors (UK, USA, Italy, Germany, Austria, Denmark) in political science, discourse linguistic and social interaction research. The contributions represent a wide range of methodological approaches to political discourse, analyzing a broad variety of genres, some of which have been less analyzed to-date, for example Wikipedia articles in combination with their discussion pages or the interaction between politicians and voters in the constituency office of a British Member of Parliament. The contributions also focus on political discourses of high and relevant topicality, such as EU membership of Britain, populism, migration and xenophobia, terrorism and narratives in international relations.