Political Discourse Research Articles

Beyond the Master’s Tools: In Conversation with Keller Easterling

Keller Easterling is an unconventional thinker. Spanning writing, creative practice and teaching, her work draws on disparate sources and intellectual traditions: from media theory to the philosophy of ecology; economic geography to game theory; anarchisms to feminisms; and from decolonisation to political discourse analysis. Infrastructure, mutualism, reparations, freedom, fugitivity, indeterminacy, whiteness, failure and solidarity emerge as core concerns in her wider attempts to develop an artistic approach capable of contending with contemporary forms of violence and power. In late 2023, Architectural Theory Review (ATR), in conjunction with the University of Technology Sydney (UTS), invited Easterling to discuss her recent work on the civil rights movement in the US. Easterling sat down with Endriana Audisho (UTS) and Jasper Ludewig (ATR) to elaborate on the themes and questions that emerged from this work, discussing their relevance to her scholarship, pedagogy and broader spatial practice.

Dr. Mary Putnam Jacobi (1842-1906): The Pioneer of Women's Medical Education.

Mary Putnam Jacobi (1842-1906) was an integral figure in the fight for women's rights to medical education and a pioneer in the debunking of prevailing menstruation myths. Her experiences being denied adequate medical education in the United States led her to pursue medical education in Paris, where she learned the importance of laboratory experimentation and was first introduced to the political discourse surrounding women's rights. She founded the Women's Medical Association and created a medical curriculum for women that paralleled the standards of Harvard Medical School. Her research publications proved that women could conduct work with the same rigor as men and advocated for women's integration into workplaces and educational spaces exclusive to men. Mary Putnam Jacobi's contributions to the women's suffrage movement created new opportunities for women to attain high levels of education that otherwise would not exist today and continue to inspire women to push the limits placed on them solely due to their gender.

The Interplay of Language, Ideology, and Power

Language is a powerful vehicle for ideology, serving not only as a means to political ends but also as a fundamental ground for attaining and maintaining positions of power. This article explores the intricate relationship between language, ideology, politics, and power, examining how linguistic devices such as implicature are utilized to influence public perception and shape political discourse. By analyzing specific political statements, the article demonstrates how language can imply more than what is explicitly stated, subtly indoctrinating individuals or groups with certain ideological positions. It delves into the role of language in reinforcing dominant ideologies, highlighting the challenges faced by those who question these ideologies. Through this analysis, the article underscores the critical function of language in both reflecting and propagating power dynamics within society. The study also investigates the concept of linguistic determinism and its potential implications for thought control. By understanding these mechanisms, we gain insight into how language is employed to seek consent, legitimize authority, and perpetuate ideological beliefs, ultimately shaping social, political, and power structures.

Surveillant Companionship and the FBI Agent Meme

In late 2017 and throughout 2018, surveillance discourse collided with meme culture through the popular “FBI agent” meme. The meme had various iterations but usually depicted ordinary individuals who are aware that they are constantly being surveilled on their personal devices by an assigned government agent. However, far from threatening Orwellian depictions of surveillance, in which a dangerous government is constantly watching, the FBI agent meme characterized the surveillant relationship as positive and caring, where the government agent is answering questions or helping with homework, providing a sympathetic ear for relationship troubles, crying over movies together, and even dropping by to deliver milk. The joke is predicated on the assumption that the government agent is always watching, knows the individual intimately, communicates with them regularly, and sometimes even intervenes through their devices, but only with the individual’s best interests in mind. The FBI agent meme depicts the relationship between the individual and the surveillant apparatus as one of surveillant companionship. Surveillant companionship suggests that surveillance fulfills a social role: partly care and control, and partly a response to widespread alienation. The FBI agent meme’s depiction of surveillant companionship satirizes the normalization of mass surveillance by highlighting the absurdity of sharing every intimate moment with the surveillant gaze. Memes also function as collective interventions in political discourse, in this case mass surveillance. Although the meme depicts the surveillant apparatus as a form of ambivalent companionship, the collective and collaborative nature of memes and the participation in communal humor and critique offers a different kind of companionship, one organized around a recognition of shared grievances and surveillant intrusions.

“Alex, DO NOT BACKPEDAL ON SANDY HOOK!”: Reactionary Fandom, Cancel Culture, and the Possibility of ‘Audience Capture’ on YouTube

“Cancel culture” has gained tremendous attention in contemporary political discourse. On platforms like YouTube, reactionary ideological entrepreneurs often employ what Ng terms second-order discourses on cancel culture, that is, portraying call-out practices such as shaming public figures as left-wing censorship efforts stifling free speech. This article argues that such call-out practices, generally ascribed to progressive communities, also occur internally within reactionary communities where fans hold ideological entrepreneurs accountable for adhering to potentially extreme political canons. Adopting a fan studies perspective, this exploratory investigation used “close” and “distant” readings on 1.8 million comments from the now-canceled “The Alex Jones Channel” on YouTube (2017–2018). Focusing on Jones’ recantation of the “Sandy Hook Hoax,” the authors show that, akin to traditional fandom conceptions, radical audiences engaged in call-out practices demanding “character” and “narrative” fidelity. This contribution, theorized as “audience capture,” emphasizes the bottom-up efforts of audiences to maintain the radical views of ideological entrepreneurs.

Muslim women’s identity in Orhan Pamuk’s Snow

ABSTRACT This paper explores hijab as a political discourse and discusses women’s character through a postmodern relationship with Orhan Pamuk’s Snow. In Snow, Pamuk presents Turkish Muslim women characters’ struggle during secular politics and portrays a struggle for their identity with and without hijab. A textual analysis of Pamuk’s Snow applies interdisciplinary approaches to examine Turkish women’s identity, their struggle for hijab, and the failure of secularism. To understand women’s role in politics, scholars like Khamis (2021), Axiarlis (2014), and others are prominent figures to theorize ideas of postmodernity (Muslim women’s alienation, conflict with self vs. other, a perspective of Muslims from east vs. west and Muslim identity with hijab vs. post/modern identity without hijab) and secularism (without hijab) in Muslim women’s context. To conclude, Muslim women’s self-identification and Pamuk’s writing influences under the East, and West ideas create a critical discussion, and questions about the postmodern idea of Muslim women. The hijab is closely concerned with gender targets, and the novel portrays women’s resistance in society. This burning issue catches our attention towards the women’s serious issue of suicide because of hijab politics.

From Humour to Impact: Internet Memes in Political Discourse through (de)legitimization

Internet memes, as artifacts of digital culture, quickly spread political ideas and critiques, transcending traditional media. Despite their prevalence, understanding how memes use semiotic elements and (de)legitimization strategies to shape political narratives on social media is limited. This research investigates how semiotic representations and (de)legitimization processes materialize in political discourse through social media memes. Using Van Leeuwen's (2005, 2007) framework of social semiotics and (de)legitimization strategies, we analyzed the visual and textual elements of 47 memes collected from January to July 2024; we selected 11 memes that represent Van Leeuwen's (de)legitimization strategies. The study revealed that memes convey complex political messages using semiotic resources, including color, gesture, and text. Intertextuality, humor, irony, rationalization, and moral evaluation are commonly used to criticize or support political figures and ideologies. This highlights the dynamic role of social media in political communication, where memes rapidly influence public perception. The findings emphasize the importance of understanding semiotic and rhetorical strategies in political communication analysis. The study contributes to the discourse of digital political communication by showing how memes, as cultural artifacts, shape political narratives and legitimacy. The research has significant implications for political strategists, communicators, and academics interested in the intersection of media, politics, and culture.

The Role of Middle Class Democratization as a Political Discussion

The Role of Middle Class Democratization as a Political Discussion

Sublating Humanism

Chinese humanism developed distinctly from European humanist discourses, reflecting unique cultural and philosophical traditions. Analysing these differences can enhance our understanding of both the specific characteristics of Chinese humanism and the diverse potentialities within contemporary global humanist thought. This comparative perspective, enhanced by employing the method of sublation, underscores the planetary relevance of humanism. It demonstrates how diverse cultural perspectives enrich and broaden the scope of global discourse, leading to a more inclusive understanding of humanism worldwide. In this paper I will give a brief historical overview of the origins and development of the formation of ideas which, in China, placed the human being at the centre of culture and the cosmos. But in order to better understand the differences that demarcate Chinese views of humans and their position in the world from European ones, we will first look at how the relationship between people and the communities in which they live is structured in the Chinese tradition. We will then examine the political and philosophical currents shaping Confucian discourse and take a look on the way in which each of them contributes to the Chinese model of humanism. By applying the method of sublation, we intend to investigate how these two systems could complement and enhance each other, thereby helping to establish a foundational framework for a newly proposed transcultural planetary ethics.

Partisans process policy-based and identity-based messages using dissociable neural systems.

Political partisanship is often conceived as a lens through which people view politics. Behavioral research has distinguished two types of "partisan lenses"-policy-based and identity-based-that may influence peoples' perception of political events. Little is known, however, about the mechanisms through which partisan discourse appealing to policy beliefs or targeting partisan identities operate within individuals. We addressed this question by collecting neuroimaging data while participants watched videos of speakers expressing partisan views. A "partisan lens effect" was identified as the difference in neural synchrony between each participant's brain response and that of their partisan ingroup vs. outgroup. When processing policy-based messaging, a partisan lens effect was observed in socio-political reasoning and affective responding brain regions. When processing negative identity-based attacks, a partisan lens effect was observed in mentalizing and affective responding brain regions. These data suggest that the processing of political discourse that appeals to different forms of partisanship is supported by related but distinguishable neural-and therefore psychological-mechanisms, which may have implications for how we characterize partisanship and ameliorate its deleterious impacts.

Power, interests and representations in the construction of alcopop as public problem in Quebec, Canada

Alcopops are malt-based or spirit-based sugary beverages whose consumption has led to numerous policies in different Western countries. This article examines the representational and socio-political dynamics surrounding the sale of alcopops that led to restrictive policies in Canada (2017–2020). Using qualitative methods during this period, including interviews with key players in the field of alcohol policy, analysis of press articles and review of legislative documents, we trace the evolution of public and political discourse on alcopops. We shed light on the role of social actors—mainly public-health organizations and the alcohol industry—defending their own interests to influence policy-making. A multi-theoretical framework is used to analyze how alcopops emerged as a public problem. This framework integrates Herbert Blumer's theoretical perspective on social problems, Serge Moscovici's social representation theory and Stevens and Zampini’s political constellation model. Through an analysis of the socio-political context in Quebec, we reveal the complex interplay between public health imperatives and the interests of the alcohol industry. This should serve as a model to study public problems that lead to public policies implementation.

Transitional justice and terrorism: socio-legal reflections on the problem of trials, perpetrator responsibility and accountability

Scholars have only recently begun to link transitional justice frameworks to legal settlements after terror. In the wake of Anders Breivik’s 2011 attacks, Norway has witnessed a series of terror and mass violence events, each followed by extensive legal proceedings. These include the 2019 mosque attack, the 2021 Kongsberg killings, and the 2022 Islamist attack during Oslo Pride week. This article examines these trials as a societal, ongoing process. This research contributes to the field of transitional justice by examining how legal systems grapple with the aftermath of terror in the absence of clear-cut criminal narratives. Focus is given to how we can expand our understanding of the meaning of legal accountability in terror contexts. The central contribution of the article is to problematise the relationship between terror trials as vehicles for perpetrator responsibility, and justice and healing. Starting from the mental health narratives surrounding all the perpetrators, the article suggests that there is a tension between holding terrorists accountable and defining them as patients. To contribute to alternative ways of construing legal accountability, the article puts forward examples of how accountability for terror is being navigated and negotiated in bureaucratic, political, and international legal discourse and practice. The article is part of a special issue honouring the contributions of the late Professor Thomas Mathiesen.

Toward a rhetorical understanding of Chinese political internet memes amid a Chinese governance crisis

ABSTRACT The global trend of social media communication renders internet memes increasingly popular as democratic-oriented discursive tools in online ideological contests. However, scholarly attention to the rhetorical aspects of memetic political discourse has predominantly been Western-centric, leaving their counterparts in non-Western socio-political environments, especially during times of social crises, relatively unexplored in the existing literature. To bridge this gap, this article employs a social-semiotic-rooted multimodal discourse analysis (MDA) to investigate how Chinese netizens utilize internet memes for ideological contestation during a societal-level Chinese governance crisis in the 2020s, characterized by a series of iconic ideological upheavals. The research examines 357 memes from the “My Post” community on WeChat, one of China’s prominent social apps, to unveil their symbolic processes and rhetorical functions in Chinese online politics. This empirical study reveals that Chinese political internet memes serve as strategic rhetorical devices that: (1) enable civic ideological expressions within an authoritarian media landscape dominated by standardized ideological narratives; (2) foster a dynamic process allowing negotiation among political authority, media institutions, and netizens to establish a discursive space accommodating contentious topics and acceptable compromises; and (3) signify a paradigm shift in rhetorical function, elevating internet memes from online communicative artifacts to a democratic perspective.

The Impact of Social Media on Political Mobilization in Nigeria: A Case Study of the Obidient Movement

This study demonstrates how the social media can be used for political mobilization, using the obidient movement as a case study. The emergence of the Obidient Movement in Nigeria has been intimately associated with the way in which the development of social media platforms has revolutionised political communication. This article looks at how social media affects political mobilisation in Nigeria, with a particular emphasis on the remarkable role that technology-driven communication played in the Obidient Movement’s success. The conventional boundaries of political campaigning have been rewritten with the rise of social media, giving non-traditional influencers, grassroots activism, and digital activism a greater chance to shape political discourse and election outcomes. The study employed the Uses and Gratification theory, to deduce how citizens were mobilized via social media to join the obidient movement. To achieve this, the study relied on qualitative research method that examines and synthesizes extant literature on political mobilization and the particular relevant literature on social media and political mobilization. The outcome of the study shows that despite the proliferation of fake news and misinformation on social media, it served as a tool for political mobilization for the obidient movement, as obidients used social media to form alliances, crowdfund, mobilse political support and interact with a wider audience. By exploring the pivotal role of social media in the recent Nigerian election, this article illuminates the transformative potential of these platforms in reshaping political mobilization and generating support for previously underrepresented political forces in the nation.

National politics ignites more talk of morality and power than local politics.

Politics and the media in the United States are increasingly nationalized, and this changes how we talk about politics. Instead of reading the local news and discussing local events, people are more often consuming national media and discussing national issues. Unlike local politics, which can rely on shared concrete knowledge about the region, national politics must coordinate large groups of people with little in common. To provide this coordination, we find that national-level political discussions rely upon different themes than local-level discussions, using more abstract, moralized, and power-centric language. The higher prevalence of abstract, moralized, and power-centric language in national vs. local politics was found in political speeches, politician Tweets, and Reddit discussions. These national-level linguistic features lead to broader engagement with political messages, but they also foster more anger and negativity. These findings suggest that the nationalization of politics and the media may contribute to rising partisan animosity.

Choosing to Provide: Early Medical Abortion and Clinician Conscience in Ireland

Providers are essential to the delivery of abortion care. Yet, they often occupy an ambiguous space in political discourse around abortion. The introduction of a new abortion service in Ireland invites us to look afresh at providers. Since the Health (Regulation of Termination of Pregnancy) Act 2018 came into force, by far the most common form of abortion care has been early medical abortion (EMA). This is typically provided by General Practitioners (GPs), with approximately 10% of GPs having chosen to provide EMA. This article draws on an empirical study of providers to investigate their motivations for, and experiences of, provision and their views on colleagues who have not chosen to provide. The study shows that for many providers, the choice to provide was grounded in a moral commitment to protecting women’s rights to autonomy and health and ensuring that the harms of the past were not repeated. The article argues that notwithstanding increased normalisation of EMA in Ireland, conscience still has a role to play in abortion care provision and it is important to reflect on the various aspects of this role.

Symbols of Resistance and Transformation in Nigerian Collage Art

This paper explores the dynamic role of collage art in Nigerian cultural and political discourse, focusing on how artists employ various symbols and motifs to navigate and critique post-colonial themes. By analyzing artworks that integrate both traditional and contemporary materials, the study highlights how these pieces reflect and influence perceptions of cultural identity, resistance, transformation, and societal progress. Through detailed examinations of specific artworks, the paper demonstrates how Nigerian collage artists articulate issues of colonial legacy, identity reaffirmation, and socio-political challenges. Furthermore, it discusses the broader cultural impact of these artworks, showing how they foster public dialogue and inspire community actions that address ongoing post-colonial challenges. This study underscores the power of visual art as a medium for social reflection and change, contributing significantly to both academic and cultural discussions about post-colonialism in Nigeria.

Political Critiques and Power Dynamics within Pakistani Society: A Critical Discourse Analysis (CDA) of Pakistani Drama "Ishq Murshid"

This research paper proposes examining postmodern political power in the Pakistani Urdu television drama “Ishq Murshid” (2023), employing Critical Discourse Analysis (CDA) as its theoretical framework that is utilized to examine how the drama reflects, reinforces, and critiques political matters and power dynamics within Pakistani society. The study's main objective is to analyze how the selected drama portrays political power, ideology, and resistance and examine the implications of political narratives and political realities in Pakistani discourse. This study is based on the qualitative method and systematically identifies and interprets political discourse within the political narrative, exploring the themes of authority, power, corruption, and social injustices represented in all the episodes of “Ishq Murshid.”. This study uses the tools and techniques for analysis including thematic coding, discourse markers identification, and critical contextualization of dialogues and narrative structures. The study aims to contribute to understanding the media's role in shaping and reflecting political discourse in South Asia, mainly through the lens of popular Urdu drama. The findings of the study of “Ishq-e-Murshid” critique Pakistan's political and social structures, highlighting corruption, moral resistance, and power dynamics. It critiques stereotypes, societal mistrust, and the role of family and legacy.

Active commuting as a form of sustainable urban mobility: The case of the Brno Metropolitan Area

Abstract Environmentally friendly alternatives to motorised transport have recently become a topic of discussion among political representatives. To achieve sustainable urban mobility objectives, political discussions have focused on promoting cycling, walking and using public transport in cities. These modes of transportation are attractive ways of commuting to and from work for a portion of the population. In the literature, there is a growing interest in the phenomenon of active commuting. This paper examines the spatio-temporal patterns and practices of active commuting and evaluates their significance in the context of sustainable urban mobility. The empirical research is based on data obtained from a questionnaire survey and semistructured interviews conducted in 2023 in the Brno Metropolitan Area. Based on the data, three categories of active commuting were identified, namely pragmatic active commuting, physical active commuting, and combined active commuting, which differ in the implementation of different spatio-temporal practices. For the development of sustainable transport in the city, it is necessary to promote the construction of pedestrian and bicycle infrastructure, with the aim of making movement for pedestrians and cyclists more straightforward, efficient, and safer, including paying attention to actions leading to the embedding of this mode of transport in the wider societal context.

Ūzūn Ḥasan and Timurid Legitimacy

Some of the Turkmen polities that arose in the wake of the waning Chinggisid power in Western Asia sought legitimation by emphasizing their connections with the myths and traditions of Oghuz Khan, perhaps in emulation of the powerful ascriptive claims of the Chinggisid Golden Family (Altan Urūgh) itself. This was particularly true of such groupings (ulūs) as the Qarāquyūnlū and Āqquyūnlū. The latter, the Āqquyūnlū, framed an elaborate genealogy in which they claimed to belong to the lineage of Bāyandur Khan, who was, according to some historians, a grandson of Oghuz Khan and whose descendants were distinguished by specific designs or brands (tamghā). The Āqquyūnlū or Bāyanduriya rulers utilized these designs on coinage, documents, architectural monuments, and banners in appealing to these Oghuz traditions. In doing so, they seemed to have been primarily concerned with competition with their Turkmen rivals. Figure 1 shows the use of the Bāyandur tamghā on a coin of Ūzūn Ḥasan’s Grandfather Qarā ʿUsmān (ruled 780-839/1378-1435); Figure 2, the heading of a document issued by the chancellery of Ūzūn Ḥasan and dated 876/1471.The rise of Tīmūr and the evolution of the Timurid polity in Transoxiana and Khurasan had a significant impact not only on the balance of military and political power throughout Western Asia and the Caucasus region, but also exerted a strong influence on the manner in which later state formations fashioned structures of political legitimacy. Some of these notions, while not originating with Tīmūr and his successors, nevertheless gained great importance as a result of Tīmūr’s conquests and his legacy as it took shape under his son Shāhrukh. As noted by Christopher Markiewicz in the quotation at the beginning of this essay, Ṣāḥib-Qirān and Mujaddidare two of the most important concepts that became increasingly common in the political and religio-political discourse of the ninth-tenth/fifteenth-sixteenth centuries. Both terms will now be discussed in connection with the career of Ūzūn Ḥasan Bāyandur.