Political Slogans Research Articles

South Korea’s Role Recalibration as “Global Pivotal State”

The concept of a “Global Pivotal State” has been introduced by the Yoon Suk-yeol administration as a key element of South Korea’s strategic Indo-Pacific Strategy. While it may initially appear to be a political slogan distinguishing his foreign policy from that of his predecessors, it also offers a framework for South Korea to redefine its strategic orientation and national role identity amid the escalating competition between China and the United States. Rather than focusing solely on political or military centrality, the notion of a “global pivotal state” emphasizes South Korea’s intention to enhance its influence on the global stage. This will be achieved through collaboration with like-minded partners, grounded in the U.S.-ROK alliance.

Multidimensional analysis of political slogans

Multidimensional analysis of political slogans

US Bipartisan Consensus on China: The Making and the Implementation

According to the most experts, there is a bipartisan consensus in the United States regarding China: both parties recognize that China poses an existential threat to the United States, its economy, socio-political structure and the role as a global leader. This core conceptual consent represents a clear contrast with the endless battles between Democrats and Republicans in the domestic political arena, blocking any legislative initiatives and the development of a unified sociopolitical agenda for the country. This rare unity has made many observers to claim the emergence of a new external enemy, in the face of which America will be able to overcome its identical crisis and to come back to national unity. The political elite also actively uses the image of the enemy, calling on the Nation for unity. This article is aimed to understand what lies behind political slogans and the bipartisan concept of confronting China. The study is based on the analysis of several sources that make it possible to judge the attitude towards China in the United States along party lines, specific to each level of the party-political system party platforms at the federal level, legislative initiatives at the state and city levels, public opinion polls at the level of the society. The research hypothesis is that Democrats and Republicans, who agree on the conceptual vision of the Chinese threat, offer different ways to counter it. The difference in methods of struggle stems from different ideological and value models that manifest themselves in the implementation of both the socioeconomic agenda within the country and foreign policy strategies in the international arena. The unity of the parties ends exactly by the developing of a conceptual framework for confrontation with the opponent. The implementation of specific steps of the anti-Chinese agenda at the state and city levels is taking place in accordance with the ideological and political guidelines of each party, and the public attitude towards the Chinese threat demonstrates a clear split along party lines. The conceptual positioning of a new external enemy instead of unification brought to the United States anti-Chinese hysteria among conservative politicians at the state level, which was realized in the adoption of discriminatory laws in Republican states against Chinese citizens and a new wave of anti-Chinese sentiment in society, manifested in outbreaks of violence against Asian minorities.

“The revolution born out of a swear”: populist humour, carnivalization, and mass protest in Romania

ABSTRACT This article aims to make two contributions. First, at a theoretical level, I briefly outline an embedded narrative approach to populism, which is critical of treating it solely as an ideology or ontologizing it. This alternative approach provides a better understanding of the connection between populism, humour, and insults. Second, at an empirical level, I argue that the 2018 mass protests against the political elite in Romania were unique in that they turned a gendered and violent insult into a guiding political slogan, reiterated across both high and popular culture. Influential intellectuals, such as Gabriel Liiceanu, the most reputed public philosopher in Romania, proclaimed that this was a “swear (înjurătură) that unites us all” inspiring a new anti-communist “revolution”. By examining both the political imagination of the “institutional intellectuals” and popular artefacts (from T-shirts to popular songs), I interpret the Romanian protests and the role of “bad language” and populist humour as an expression of the carnivalization of politics and the intensification of antagonism in post-communist Romania.

Factors Affecting Voting Behavior: A Case Study of the Consecutive Success of Pakistan Tehreek-e Insaf (PTI) in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa General Elections

Current paper is an analytical investigation into the elements that led to the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf winning the 2018 general elections in Province of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. This study is significant because the consecutive success of PTI is termed as landmark development in history of KP. Researcher adopted positivism as research philosophy, quantitative methodology as the research paradigm, statistical approach was employed and survey method as research design was used. The study was delimited to the voters of Dera Ismail Khan. The numerical data was tested through appropriate statistical means, after checking the validity and reliability. The results revealed that all the factors had contributed significantly in the consecutive success of PTI. Among these factors (new reforms, political slogans, charismatic leadership, the establishment's role, the youth factor, and anticorruption campaign), new reforms, introduced by the PTI government during 2013-2018 period has contributed more than any other variable. The results showed that almost 88% change can be attributed to these variables. It was concluded that voters of Dera Ismail Khan favored the PTI candidates on basis of the new reforms introduced by them. The study recommended that political parties should work on the reforms in the institutions which has been established for the benefit of people but they are doing opposite. Future researchers can study in other regions of the KP on this particular issue.

Self-mediatisation and the format of Swedish parliamentary speeches: Speech length and political slogans, 1920–2019

Abstract In this article, we investigate traces of a news media logic in the Swedish parliamentary speeches from 1920 to 2019. Drawing on theories of mediatisation, we examine two aspects: the length of the speeches and repeated political slogans. Our analysis is based on a complete corpus of parliamentary records with annotated speeches. Speech length was measured based on word count, and the identification of slogans was based on repeated seven-word segments, filtered to exclude generic phrases. While it is difficult to draw any definitive conclusions about the influence of an external media logic, the speech length has dropped by 50 per cent since 1920. This change relates to new parliamentary procedures, and from the 1980s, with the explicit goal to attract the news media. Short and snappy political slogans have increased significantly since the 1990s. This development reflects previous research stating that sound bites are getting shorter.

Slogans as a policy distractor: a case of ‘washback’ discourse in English language testing reforms in Japan

ABSTRACT This paper examines recent reforms in English-language testing in Japan using a policy distraction framework. We identify the term ‘washback (effect)’ and other related discourses as major distractors and investigate how ‘washback’ discourses have functioned as political slogans or catchphrases in policy deliberation processes and how they have diverted attention and resources from more essential issues. By analyzing advisory panel minutes and other policy documents, we demonstrate how policy distraction operates. Some committee members initially introduced ‘washback’ discourse in a deliberation meeting, citing studies on language testing. However, this discourse quickly became a political slogan, transforming into a dubious rationale for advocating the use of commercial four-skills English tests in university entrance exams. This ‘washback’ discourse led to policy distraction and the overlooking of more significant issues, such as class size reduction and the improvement of teachers’ working conditions. Additionally, our analysis reveals underlying factors triggering this distraction, including Japanese ideological views on English education and budgetary austerity in education. We discuss the political and pedagogical implications of these findings, particularly regarding the identification of political distractions, their potential threat to teacher agency, and strategies for addressing and correcting these distractions to facilitate social change.

Populism Unveiled: Mechanisms and Triggers of Political Violence

In recent decades, there has been a widespread surge of populism worldwide. Populists strategically utilize media platforms to highlight the suppression of ordinary citizens by political authorities and the perceived unethical behaviors of political elites. Populists, who employ political slogans advocating for the interests of the common masses and eliminating corrupt elites, have swiftly garnered widespread support. However, the ascent of populists to positions of authority has coincided with a notable increase in political violence. While scholars have extensively elucidated definitions and classifications of populism, and numerous theoretical studies have analyzed factors contributing to the emergence of populism in different geographical areas, there remains a shortage of unified comprehension regarding the mechanisms through which populism incites political violence. This paper investigates the various trajectories of political violence triggered by populism through a comprehensive literature review and comparative analysis. The study contends that political violence is incited by populism through two distinct pathways, as evidenced by an analysis of incidents occurring in various regions under populist regimes. The first pathway sees political violence initially prompted by the consolidation of power and the repression of political adversaries by populist leaders. The second pathway involves the xenophobic ideology of populism intensifies conflicts between native citizens and foreign immigrants, thereby heightening the likelihood of political violence.

“The A.M. Kovalev’s Conception of ‘Just Society’ in the Context of Current Political and Philosophical Discussions”

In modern political and theoretical discourse, the concept of a ‘ just society’ is usually perceived as a normative idea that expresses the notion of what society “should be”. Nowadays, social justice as a political slogan is becoming an increasingly universal requirement made by social movements, political parties and groups regarding the ways of social organization and its functions. Regardless of the different interpretations, it is inseparable from other related concepts, such as ‘equality’, ‘ freedom’ and many others. It also represents the projection of various concepts of justice on social relations in individual countries, regions, and, finally, throughout the world (‘global justice’ on the scale of all mankind). Comparative analysis of the A.M. Kovalev’s concept of a just society and the main trends in the interpretation of this idea in modern Western socio-political theory indicate that the methodology developed by an outstanding Russian scientist can rightfully be considered one of the most promising. Its distinguishing feature is the creative interpretation of a set of ideas about a just society, dating back to the early works of Marx. It is combined with the analysis of the ideas of the Western European Enlightenment, the philosophy of Kant, Hegel and Fichte, the evolution of the social philosophy of the Frankfurt School and other equally influential areas of modern political theory (R. Aron and others). An analysis of modern political theories shows that the dyad “ justice / state” constitutes the ontological core of the political and philosophical discourse, in the structure of which the ideas of Marxism play an important role. In the A.M. Kovalev’s theory of a just society, the various assessments of the heuristic potential of Marxism acquire additional incentives, opening the way to new creative discussions. The article is dedicated to the 100th anniversary of the birth of A.M. Kovalev.

The Religio-Philosophical Analysis of Political Parties' Campaign Slogans in Osun State, Nigeria (2018 And 2022)

This study delves into the religio-philosophical dimensions of political slogans, specifically “IleriOluwa” (“God’s Promise”) and “Imole De” (“Lightness has Come”), within the context of Osun State’s diverse religious landscape. The research explores how these slogans resonate with different religious communities, revealing varying religious symbolism and connotations. It investigates how the slogans are perceived within the Christian, Muslim, and indigenous religious frameworks, shedding light on their spiritual and philosophical implications. By delving into these complex dynamics, this study contributes to a nuanced understanding of the interplay between religion, politics, and culture in a multicultural Nigerian state.

The Oxymoron of the Vienna Circle

It is argued that the legacy of the Vienna Circle played a very important role in the intellectual quest of modern philosophy. No matter how the concept of logical positivism is buried by “continental philosophy”, or ideologically motivated philosophers, or even the latest initiatives of the contemporary philosophy of science, the scientific worldview remains invariant. The traditions of the work of logical positivists remain relevant both for the development of modern philosophy of science and as guidelines indicating the way to get rid of the idle talk (“meaninglessness”) of political slogans and manifestos.

Populism in The United States During Donald Trump's Government: The Failure to Understand Human Identity from The Perspective of Constructivism

This research analyzes human impartiality towards the single rationality of human ethics or cosmopolitanism in accepting racial, cultural, ethnic, and religious differences that have existed since the earth was created. The impartiality of the single value of human ethics takes Donald Trump's administration as the case study. After being elected as US President, Donald Trump followed the voice of his voters in determining the policies, especially regarding immigrants. Immigrants assessed undermine the country's economy and damage the social order of the local community. It resulted in a national political map that rejects the single rationality of ethical value of humanity, known as populism. Qualitative research methods are used by conducting in-depth research based on existing literature studies, including books used explicitly for theory development, journals to develop data, and media reports to analyze world leaders' responses towards Donald Trump's policies. Constructivism employs to analyze the case. The result was the rejection of the values of cosmopolitanism because of the community's disappointment with the government that offered jobs to strangers, especially immigrants without adequate skills, so the local community felt that their rights were being taken away and sacrificed under the pretext of justice. This assumption arose because people assumed their economic resources and welfare, such as job vacancies and social assistance provided by the state, absolutely belonged to them. This rejection then advocated to become an anti-immigrant issue, an act of rejection of differences in social identity that considers immigrants to be damaging to the economy, social stability and causing political turmoil that offends human identity. Trump used these community anxieties to win the 2017 US elections by using the political slogan Make America Great Again.

Narratives of Ageing, Narratives of Nation-building: Manjul and the Poetics of Dissidence in Nepal

This article reads the work of a publicly engaged poet from Nepal, Manjul, to explore how revolutions age along with humans and nations. His recent work is juxtaposed against his earlier political activism leading a radical movement ‘Ralpha’ which had spearheaded literary activism against the Panchayati dictatorship. Earlier known for his subversive lifestyle and rebellious literary repertoire, Manjul later turned self-reflective, not only pondering on the ironies of everyday living and the poetics of dissidence but also inching towards a more humanised outlook on the ideals of the nation and the state. Clearly, there are paradoxes in the way the intimate and the public, the accordant and the disruptive, and the conformist and the subversive are played off against one another by those in power. In a poetic tribute dedicated to his forebearer poet Siddhicharan, Manjul contemplates how political slogans may inspire and even serve as cornerstones for certain strands of poetry. However, he emphasises how these slogans are only one of the many dimensions of society and nation. The flame of revolutionary spirit still burns within Manjul even in his advanced years. Yet, it seamlessly blends into the broader tapestry of life embracing the sanctity of thought, expression and action. The article situates this corpus within the anthropological debates on the epistemologies of writing culture.

Connecting the Countryside

Abstract In the 1950s and 1960s, rural radio networks were erected all across China, operated and maintained by local residents who worked as technicians, correspondents, and broadcasters. This article introduces the radio network as a complex and diverse technological infrastructure for the socialist masses. The content of broadcasting was never uniform; rather, each county, town, village, and even the individual broadcaster had a say in what sounds came out of their loudspeakers. Accordingly, the Chinese socialist soundscape was not only peppered with quotation songs and political slogans but also contained music and traditional opera, useful information, and occasionally the relay of foreign radio stations. Radio networks brought people together as members and active builders of the new society. While the extant historiography understands the socialist masses as a political and social category, this article argues that it was also constructed as a technological one. The socialist citizenry was often defined by its involvement in state-led infrastructure projects such as the radio network; in turn, as people strove to build and run their own radio networks, they spontaneously took part in assembling and buttressing the infrastructure that underpinned the socialist state.

Sedition or Mere Dissent? Linguistic Analysis of a Political Slogan

This paper reports the first case in which a linguist served as an expert witness in Hong Kong, a former British colony that has operated as a special administrative region of the People’s Republic of China (PRC) since 1997. The dispute was on the meaning of the political slogan “Liberate Hong Kong, Revolution of Our Times”, which was widely adopted during the 2019–2020 protests. The keywords “liberate” and “revolution” are smoking gun evidence for the prosecution in a large cluster of cases that involve sedition law and national security offences. Section I of the paper provides background information about a case the author was involved in, which was concerned with whether the slogan was seditious. Section II describes the analysis conducted, which concludes that the slogan as a whole refers to a need to rectify a problem and to return to the original, a more desirable state of affairs for Hong Kong, without specifying what problem there is and what the desirable state of affairs looks like. Section III highlights some critical issues in the analysis, discussing challenges faced and ethical questions for the expert witness. Section IV is a postscript that briefly describes the outcome of the case.

A Critical Analysis of Legal Framework on Accountability: A Case Study of Pakistan

Accountability has become a popular political slogan in Pakistan nowadays. “Accountability for all,” “across-the-board accountability,” and "Pakistan has no future until the scourge of corruption is seriously faced" are nonetheless fundamental to the discussion of accountability. Pakistan has established a number of anti-corruption entities but has yet to create and put into place a comprehensive accountability structure. This article argues that Pakistan's corruption is systemic, and that the country's existing accountability system is bogged down in addressing financial corruption alone. Pakistan seems to have a culture of discontent and instability because of bad leadership, corruption, unfairness, politicization of the accountability system, and inflationary pressures that are difficult to maintain. It is crucial that everyone, especially the stakeholders, fully comprehends the theoretical ideas of corruption and the fundamental sense of accountability. Current accountability legislation must be reviewed to effectively lessen the risk of corruption. The research recommends setting up a National Accountability Commission and adopting a bottom-up, decentralized participatory strategy for Pakistan's policymaking in order to increase accountability.

“Digital Silk Road” as a Slogan Instead of a Grand Strategy

ABSTRACT The rise of the Digital Silk Road has significantly shifted the focus of China’s Belt and Road Initiative. This change in emphasis has produced sizeable political and academic analyses, considering that the Digital Silk Road is Beijing’s coherent top-down geopolitical—if not grand—strategy. This article challenges this view. By adopting a slogan politics approach, this article argues that the Digital Silk Road can be better understood as a vague political slogan. Far from a sophisticated top-level design, the rise of the Digital Silk Road was a result of economic and political struggles among domestic actors and the shifting socio-political landscape. This article also shows that Chinese domestic actors have (un)consciously interpreted the slogan of the Digital Silk Road in their preferred ways to advance their own agenda. Beyond nationwide support to echo the slogan, there is neither a coherent understanding nor a nationally concerted effort to advance a singular geopolitical objective, if there is any. Consequently, company-level interests and agendas, rather than a top-down geopolitical masterplan, have dominated the development of the Digital Silk Road.

Philosophy, hidden in slogans: The case of relaxedness of Slovenian educational system

Slogans in education are designed to promote educational goals. One of the finest remarkable examples in Slovenian history demonstrates that political slogans can sometimes cover a whole range of social areas and operate as a central ideologeme, through which a very specific political and educational ambition was promoted in an otherwise inarticulate way. The concept of relaxedness (in Slovenian sproščenost), taken from the philosophy of Martin Heidegger and his notion of Die Gelassenheit (releasement), after the victory of the right-wing SDS (Slovenian Democratic Party) party in 2004 is perhaps one of the best illustrations in Slovenian politics of how an ideology, in this case a philosophically inspired one, operated already through the slogan and, above all, through its semantically ambiguous and undefined content. The sproščenost of the Slovenian school, as it was named, became a motto for political change within the educational system as well, where the very essence of it manifested through complete vagueness or, in other words, openness to meaning. In line with the uncommon slogan ‘Za sproščeno Slovenijo’ (‘For a relaxed Slovenia’) the SDS, as the leading opposition party in Slovenian history, not only won the elections for the first time, but also tried to completely transform the social and political space in the country. The Slovenian example shows how a unique political slogan can occupy the whole social field, including education, with its effects, thus creating a specific political and at the same time educational moment in its social action.

Investigating Iraqiʼs Election Propaganda Photos

The current study explores the phenomena of election propaganda photos. A political slogan is viewed as one of the most important ways for political parties and candidates to communicate with voters, particularly when party identification is declining. Political advertising in Iraq began with the use of posters, flyers, and other printed materials. The present study sheds light on how candidates and political parties in Iraq communicate with their audiences. It studies Iraqi election propaganda photos from a pragmatic point of view and takes Yuleʼs theory (1996) of presupposition as a model for data analysis. The data concerning the candidates are chosen from different Iraqi provinces to investigate those electoral campaigns pragmatically. Furthermore, this study deals with various aspects in terms of the expressions used for the purpose of influencing the voter's decision for the right candidate.

The politics of rhetoric: examining popular discourse in Jammu and Kashmir

This study examines diverse political slogans in Jammu and Kashmir (J&K) from 1947 to 2019. It discusses the rhetorical impacts of these slogans and how they impacted and shaped the diverse ideological orientations across the different regions of J&K. Building on the rhetorical function that political assertion serves through the use of slogans, the article analyses slogans that have shaped the cultural and political trajectory of J&K since 1947. The analysis is insightful for understanding the political history of J&K and the role of institutions and processes like the party system and elections in the smooth functioning of democracy. Though considerable literature exists on J&K’s politics and conflict, however, the subject of slogans has remained largely neglected, despite the significance that they hold for a comprehensive historical understanding of the region. Studying this subject, we believe, not only opens a political window to analyse regional history differently but also highlights how the rhetorical functions of political assertions shape popular opinions and hold the potential to impact thought patterns and cultural settings. Strategies to develop slogans and how the political parties and other groups used them will be analysed contextually and the developments that have shaped the modern political history of J&K.