British Politics Research Articles

Cross-Linguistic Stylistic Fusion: How English Political Discourse Shapes Russian Political Science Professionals

The pervasive impact of the English language on global linguistic landscapes is undeniable, with Russian being no exception to this trend. This study explores the extent to which English has influenced Russian-language political discourse, particularly focusing on the stylistic elements that have percolated into the vernacular of Russian student political scientists. Through a meticulously designed experiment, the authors investigated whether the continuous exposure to authentic English political texts – both oral and written – within a structured academic setting has led to the stylistic emulation in the students’ own Russian-language political speeches. Utilizing a complex analytical approach that combines linguistic-stylistic, functional-linguistic, structural-semantic, and statistical methods, the research revealed a notable incorporation of imagery and humor akin to that found in Anglophone political discourse. The findings of the study indicate that a majority of participants have adopted and actively employed stylistic devices such as humor, irony, self-irony, and expressive language tools in their speeches. These devices stand in stark contrast to the traditional tenets of Russian political oratory, suggesting a discursive-stylistic convergence with English norms. The implications of this study are twofold. Academically, it contributes to an understanding of cross-linguistic stylistic influences in an era of increasing globalization. Practically, the insights gleaned from this research have the potential to enhance the teaching methodologies for foreign language acquisition in the field of political science, ensuring that future professionals are equipped with a nuanced command of language that reflects contemporary communicative practices.

Brian P. Cooper. Travel, Travel Writing, and British Political Economy: “Instructions for Travellers,” circa 1750–1850 London: Routledge, 2022. Pp. 347. $128.00 (cloth).

Brian P. Cooper. <i>Travel, Travel Writing, and British Political Economy: “Instructions for Travellers,” circa 1750–1850</i> London: Routledge, 2022. Pp. 347. $128.00 (cloth).

Mobilizing William Godwin, the “Father of British Anarchism”: History, Strategy, and the Intellectual Cultures of Post-war British Anarchism

This article examines the reconfigurations of British anarchist politics and culture, focusing on the reception of William Godwin by three influential anarchist writers and activists: George Woodcock, Colin Ward, and Albert Meltzer. It argues that mobilizing Godwin was an important part of their efforts to define, and then defend, a particular version of anarchist intellectual culture in Britain, each with its own unique history and strategic perspectives regarding social and political change. These competing conceptualizations of Godwin's legacy and significance therefore reflected both their independent political and intellectual concerns and developing rifts in the broader anarchist movement, especially between proponents of gradualism and those of more militant forms of anarchism. Ultimately, for all three, Godwin became a cipher for internal ideological struggles in anarchist politics, as his pliable ideas were mobilized in the battle for the meaning of British anarchism.

Violence and Power of the Modern British Monarch

Violence and Power of the Modern British Monarch

The Limits of ‘Opportunity’: Is There a Clear Labour or Conservative View of Social Mobility?

AbstractThis article considers the relationship between views of social mobility in British politics, identifying four competing views in government statements, political news stories and opinion pieces. The two established views are the Blairite liberal view, which seeks to widen entry into the ‘playing field’ of educational ‘opportunity’, and its companion bourgeois view, protecting the acclaim given to elite educational experiences. Against these established views are two insurgent views: a (politically ignored) socialist view and a ‘postliberal’ view introduced into the Social Mobility Commission under the chairship of the loosely Conservative‐aligned Katharine Birbalsingh. On the right, the postliberal and bourgeois views explicitly clash. On the left, with the socialist view dormant, the postliberal view is assimilated by Labour almost as a socialism substitute, appearing in turn with the Blairite liberal view in Labour rhetoric. The result is, respectively on right and left, disharmony and incoherence in the meaning of social mobility.

From “Decisive Hostility” to “Cordial Agreement”: “The Times” on the Evolution of Britain’s Image in Russian Press at the Beginning of the 20th Century

The article deals with the reflection of the image of Britain in the analytical reviews of “The Times” newspaper on the pages of the Russian periodical press at the beginning of the 20th century.&#x0D; The study covers the period from the turn of the 19th–20th centuries until 1907, when the relations between Russia and Britain transitioned from extreme tension and rivalry in different regions of the world to an alliance within the Triple Entente. At this time, the press became truly massive and exerted a stronger influence than ever on the development of international relations. One of the leading English newspapers, “The Times”, took a largely pro-government stance and reflected the official position on foreign policy issues. It regularly reviewed the publications in the Russian press concerning Anglo-Russian relationship or British politics in general.&#x0D; As a result of the analysis of “The Times” reviews, it is possible to show the significance of the British political image, the dynamics of public opinion in the Russian Empire regarding a possible confrontation or Anglo-Russian rapprochement. The Russian press formed among readers a certain perception of Britain in the context of the Anglo-Boer War, the events in the Far East, the process of resolving contradictions, and the conclusion of the 1907 agreement, while the English press reflected on this image. The transformation of rhetoric in the press happened as rapidly as the changes in relations between the two powers.

The Third Earl Grey, Liberalism, and the British Empire

This article suggests that Henry, third Earl Grey, had a vision of a liberal British world, which he hoped to implement through a political career. It was based on strong executive governance, representative politics, and the abolition of protection and slavery. It relied on the free market and good race relations to bring progress. He rejected the idea that legislation could impose improvement on colonial peoples. His program was quickly derailed, because of turbulent representative politics in Britain and the colonies after 1848. Later political developments made any integrated liberal vision of empire even more impractical. Studying Grey's arguments, and their fate, can help the task of defining British imperial liberalism. It is best understood as an attempt to check (Tory) vested interests, rather than as an ideology of interventionist improvement. Its priorities and tensions make most sense in relation to the concepts, assumptions, and turning points that dominated British politics.

Why Sinoscepticism will Remake British Politics

AbstractSinoscepticism is on the rise in British politics. Why is this? And what are the implications? This article shows that Sinoscepticism is not solely a result of the whims of MPs, but also stems from deep‐rooted tensions surrounding Britain's position in global order. Specifically, the British state finds itself on the horns of a dilemma: accept the status quo of staying economically open to China, but face staunch criticism and reprisals both internationally and domestically; or become more hawkish in relations, but risk worsening Britain's imbalanced and underperforming economy. Considering the Conservative Party's longstanding commitment to both the ‘special relationship’ with the US and to business and finance, this predicament is likely to provoke the party. The dilemma is seemingly about relations with one country, but, like Euroscepticism, it has the potential to become a stand‐in for debates over what sort of country the UK should be.

The political alignment of presidents of the early Royal Society of London

PurposeThis study aims to identify the political alignment and political activity of the 11 Presidents of Britain’s most important scientific organisation, the Royal Society of London, in its early years 1662–1703, to determine whether or not the institution was politically aligned.Design/methodology/approachThere is almost no information addressing the political alignment of the Royal Society or its Presidents available in the institution’s archives, or in the writings of historians specialising in its administration. Even reliable biographical sources, such as the Oxford Dictionary of National Biography provide very limited information. However, as 10 Presidents were elected Member of Parliament (MP), The History of Parliament: British Political, Social and Local History provides a wealth of accurate, in-depth data, revealing the alignment of both.FindingsAll Presidents held senior government offices, the first was a Royalist aristocrat; of the remaining 10, 8 were Royalist or Tory MPs, 2 of whom were falsely imprisoned by the House of Commons, 2 were Whig MPs, while 4 were elevated to the Lords. The institution was Royalist aligned 1662–1680, Tory aligned 1680–1695 and Whig aligned 1695–1703, which reflects changes in Parliament and State.Originality/valueThis study establishes that the early Royal Society was not an apolitical institution and that the political alignment of Presidents and institution continued in later eras. Furthermore, it demonstrates how the election or appointment of an organisation’s most senior officer can be used to signal its political alignment with government and other organisations to serve various ends.

The Bulletin, ‘Londonisation’ and Scottish Politics in the 1940s and 1950s

This article seeks to examine Scottish politics in the decade or so following the Second World War. The objective is to uncover the texture of Scottish politics in a period that has been characterised rather simplistically. Much of the evidence for the paper is drawn from the Scottish popular press, most notably newspapers such as the Bulletin, which was a Glasgow publication with a unionist outlook, motivated by a concern to keep Scottish issues to the fore and to resist centralisation. The article will examine the way in which interpretations of this period in Scottish politics, as being one dominated by a unionism that was common to the main parties, serve to flatten what was an interesting and contested landscape. There is a considerable literature on this period in British historiography that engages in a debate about the value of the idea of ‘consensus’ in British politics. The apparent consensus over the Union hid a range of important debates about the way in which the Union ought to operate that were of such an extent as to bring the idea of a unionist consensus into question. Given that the Scottish National Party was such a marginal force in Scottish politics in this period, it seems more sensible to focus on the debates about the meaning of the Union rather than to adopt an existential focus that was simply not present in day-to-day political debate in the decade following the Second World War.

Perception of charisma in text and speech

Abstract The perception of leaders as charismatic personalities has been linked to the level of (positive) emotion in their messages. The present paper reports a cross-modal perception study on the relationship between perceived charisma and positive as well as negative emotions. One hundred forty-nine participants listened or read Brexit speeches by four British politicians (David Cameron, Nicola Sturgeon, Nigel Farage, Theresa May) and rated their charisma using a 7-point Likert scale. Emotions in speeches were quantified on three dimensions (valence, arousal, dominance) and supplemented by analyses of person deixis (I vs. we). Results revealed that effects of emotions on perceived charisma are moderated by the modality of speeches. Emotionally positive words as well as inclusive person deixis increased charisma ratings in written messages, but the effect was reduced or not present in auditory versions of these messages. Implications arise for studies of political discourse that tend to focus on scripted speeches.

Participatory Democracy and the British Utopian Tradition: Leonard Woolf's Co-operative Commonwealth in Historical Perspective

Abstract This article examines an understudied chapter in the history of British socialist thought: the consumer-based socialism theorized by the Fabian and Labour Party advisor Leonard Woolf between 1913 and 1920. Exemplifying what used to be referred to in negative terms as “interwar idealism,” Woolf is now widely considered one of the chief architects of imperial and foreign policy for the British Labour Party between 1914 and 1945. Throughout this period, he was also a patient and committed advocate for a cooperative model of participatory, rank-and-file democracy founded on the organization and practices of the Co-operative Movement, whose socialist, transformative aspirations Woolf found most fully realized in the Women's Co-operative Guild under the leadership of Margaret Llewelyn Davies. Woolf's interest in radical democratic templates places him in a line of British utopian thought that looks to small-scale models of popular self-government as test cases for overall social transformation—ranging from Robert Owen's communes, through William Morris's medieval craft guilds, to the guild socialism advocated by G. D. H. Cole and R. H. Tawney. At the same time, in identifying the consumer rather than the producer as the means and ends of social change, Woolf's proposals for a socialist commonwealth emerge as an alternative to most socialist thought, a rarely examined case in a British politics of consumption which, as Matthew Hilton has shown, has traditionally offered itself as a “middle” or “third way” solution to a party political system dominated by the interests of capitalists and workers.

Pittite Triumph and Whig Failure in the Cambridge University Constituency, 1780–96*

AbstractCambridge University has been featured in a wide range of studies of the long 18th century, but few have focused exclusively on the dynamics behind its politics. This is surprising since many of the Cambridge University electors were close to leading parliamentarians. The Cambridge University constituency was contested at each of the three successive general elections from 1780 onwards until 1796. Parliamentary contests often brought Cambridge University's political tensions into focus, which is why a detailed analysis of the poll books can demonstrate how different networks within the university behaved and could define the performance of candidates for the constituency. The relationships between the chancellors, vice‐chancellors, high stewards, university officers, college heads, fellows, senate members and members of parliament who collectively made up the leadership are fundamental to understanding the electorate of Cambridge University. These relationships, in terms of friendships, alliances and rivalries, also influenced political and patronage networks within the university. William Pitt the Younger's success in changing the political complexion of Cambridge University is part of the broader realignment in British politics during the final two decades of the 18th century. Under the pressure of these events, Whig unity would come to an end as new divisions between ministerialists and reformers emerged. The experience of Cambridge University can shed light on the national shifts as well as how electioneering was carried out in the university parliamentary constituencies.

Young SNP members: socio-nationalism, identity and politics

Scotland is an interesting case study when it comes to politics, nationalism and identity. The separatist movement led by the Scottish National Party (SNP) raises a wide range of questions with regard to Scottish and British politics as well as people's sense of belonging. Given that young people are the generation most likely to witness a hypothetical second independence referendum in the future, this paper focuses on them. It examines the young members of the SNP. It explores the interconnection between Scottish politics and young SNP members' nationalism as well as their understanding of Scottishness. With the analysis of empirical research conducted from 2018 to 2020, it suggests that the Young Scots for Independence (YSI) and SNP Students' nationalism should be regarded as socio-nationalism. This paper defines it as the promotion of societal values and a certain perception of society combined with the promotion and defense of a nation. Interviews and questionnaires reveal that these young people define Scotland as socially just, equal and open. Overall, their definition of Scottishness is similar. In that sense, this paper argues that their political ideology and their sense of belonging are interrelated. This is highlighted by the fact that Scottish independence is, among other factors, the most significant reason why young people choose to become SNP members. It also highlights a relationship between their sense of Scottishness and their wish for Scotland to become independent. Therefore, this paper argues that young people's membership of the SNP and national identity are interrelated.

Dual polity, dual careers? The dynamic interaction of political careers and territorial order in the devolved United Kingdom

ABSTRACT A lack of inter-governmental relations has been seen as a serious challenge to the integrity of the UK after devolution. This article asks whether newly evolving multilevel political career patterns can make up for this deficit by providing new and meaningful institutional linkages between centre and periphery or whether they cement and expand the existent institutional schism? The empirical career analysis reveals patterns of alternative careers facilitating the emergence of distinct political classes at the centre and the peripheries. Career patterns and institutional structures are depicted as mutually reinforcing the dualistic character of British territorial politics and thus projecting the image of a divided rather than a united kingdom.

Языковые особенности общественно-политического дискурса: на примере сопоставления политических речей британских и американских политиков

The paper examines the linguistic features of political discourse. Using British and American political speeches, the researchers identify the general and specific features in the political discourse of statesmen speaking different national languages. The aim of the study is to describe the linguistic means and axiological categories used in the political speeches of British and American politicians that reflect the national and cultural specifics of the two states at the level of political discourse. The scientific novelty of the study is determined by the choice of the object and subject of analysis: using the example of linguistic means, the paper is the first to identify and compare the common and specific characteristics of the two nations in terms of modeling political discourse in British English and American English. As a result of examining transcripts of political speeches, certain coincidences have been revealed, on the one hand, in the use of linguistic means and axiological categories when creating political speeches, on the other hand, the peculiarities of the national and cultural specificity of American discourse, which manifested itself in such tropes as alliteration, gradation, comparison, syntactic parallelism. It has been found that in the creation of British political speeches, preference is given to repetition and polysyndeton, which are barely represented in American discourse.

Cultural Clichés and the Cleo-Craze: How did Great Britain Use Propaganda Between 1882 and 1922 to Influence British Public Opinion to Support their Annexation of Egypt?

The contemporary relationship between British politicians, their press, and the British public is rooted in a propaganda model established in the 19th century, after advances in printing technology coincided with the expansion of the empire and subsequent justifications for imperialism. This article examines the founding of this relationship, specifically in the case of the official British annexation of Egypt between 1882 and 1922, in an attempt to illuminate more generally colonial power dynamics and how the media's portrayal of history alters a public's conceptions of race. Thus, the relationship between the Victorian press, the British government, and their annexed country Egypt, provides an important case analysis for propaganda studies generally, and furthers the discussion about how race and class are perceived by the British public as a result.

The Anti-Monarchist Turn in British Politics, Society, and Culture: Diana, Harry and After

This article returns to the context of the royal crises of the late nineteen-nineties and re-examines the origins of the term “anti-monarchism” and scholarship in this field. Taking the popularity of the monarchy as a starting point and acknowledging the weakness of an openly republican discourse in Britain rarely expressed through the platforms of the major political parties, anti-monarchism provides a measure of the shift in public opinion that resulted in a questioning of the influence, probity, public role, and privileged financial position of the royal house. The focus of this article is on public attitudes, and the move towards sympathy for younger, less establishment royal figures, defined by celebrity culture, who attract the empathy and interest of a younger public. In the following analysis, figures from Princess Diana to Harry and Meghan may be cast as pretenders, fulfilling the role of an alternative to the existing family and, in some views, a compromised court of the Windsors. Here there emerges the outline of a potentially “liberal” vision of monarchy that eschews the established conventions of royal life and reflects a discourse of diversity and pluralism. Further, this piece analyses the increasing relevance of anti-monarchist discourse against the turbulent backdrop of Brexit, debates around Scottish independence, a renewed emphasis on the importance of Englishness, the death of Queen Elizabeth II and the potential break-up of the union. Locating Harry’s memoir Spare in a broader tradition of royal revelations and exposures, this article also explores the role of anti-monarchist currents in the former empire, particularly the Caribbean, and across the Commonwealth in shaping the discourse of anti-monarchism in Britain.

Internal Versus Institutional Barriers to Gender Equality: Evidence from British Politics

Internal Versus Institutional Barriers to Gender Equality: Evidence from British Politics

Linguocognitive grounds of commemorative discourse

The article deals with the linguocognitive aspects of commemorative discourse. Commemorative discourse is understood here as a combination of language-mediated social practices of preservation, promotion and transfer of the heritage of the past. The topicality of the present paper is determined by the need to expand the knowledge of commemorative discourse as an object of linguocognitive study. The aim of the article is to reveal and describe the ways of verbalizing the linguocognitive grounds of English-language commemorative discourse. The material is 570 English-language small-format texts published online by British, American, and Canadian politicians from 2018 till 2024. The research was conducted with general scientific methods (analysis, synthesis, description, etc.), types of analyzing language phenomena (conceptual, categorial, contextual analysis, discourse analysis) and techniques of material selection and systematization (continuous sampling, fixation of language phenomena). Having analyzed the empirical material, the author finds the principal types of knowledge represented in English-language commemorative discourse – language, intuitive, and scientific, and describes means of their verbalization. The basic linguocognitive mechanisms of meaning-making, which facilitate (re)interpretation of the past, get revealed, cognitive illusion being the most prominent of them. Cognitive illusion is serviced by mechanisms like fusion, analogy, reification, recontextualization, grounding, perspectivization, vantage point, subjectivization, and intersubjectivization.