Socio-political Discourse Research Articles

Концепт «кризис» как инструмент артикуляции политических интересов в общественно-политическом дискурсе (на примере российских федеральных и региональных средств массовой информации)

The article analyzes the concept of «crisis» as an attribute of symbolic politics, which is reflected in the socio-political discourse. The aim was to study the concept of «crisis» as a tool for the struggle of discourses depending on the political interests of actors. The most important source of modern socio-political discourse is the mass media. In this regard, the study of the manifestations of the concept of «crisis» was carried out using the tools of content analysis and qualitative analysis of the text. As a result of the analysis of the content of the Russian federal and regional mass media, the hypothesis that the concept of «crisis» is used in the struggle of discourses, taking semantic meanings determined by the political interests of actors, were confirmed. The predominance of crisis content in the federal press is recorded. It is also noted that the federal and regional media do not so much broadcast a picture of reality, as they take part in the transformation of ideas about this reality. The data and conclusions obtained as a result of the study allow us to further more objectively assess the motivational and substantive aspects of the escalation of crisis situations in the public field.

Representation of Socio-Political Transformation in the Contemporary Vocabulary of Japanese

The article is devoted to the study of some social aspects of the socio-political changes impact in Japan in 2010-2020 and their contribution to the emergence of neologisms in the Japanese language. The active invasion of the English language into the vocabulary of the Japanese language is associated with social processes in Japan caused by its defeat in World War II, the period of American occupation, as well as the aggressive international policy of the 45th President of the United States Donald Trump. The aim of the work is to show the connection between the social processes in Japan and their international reflection under the pressure of US policy, and the appearance of neologisms of foreign origin in the Japanese language. Materials and methods of research: a method of structural-semantic modeling based on a detailed comparison of Japanese vocabulary. We also used a comparative method of studying socio-political processes. A sociological method was used to select the most common neologisms of foreign origin. Results of the work: we studied the neologisms of foreign origin that appeared in the last decade and have become quite densely included in the vocabulary of the Japanese language under the pressure of the countrys socio-political discourse against the background of US international policy, and, in particular, the aggressive political course of the 45th President of the United States Donald Trump in relation to Japan. In total, about 100 such neologisms were selected. We identified the most common neologisms of foreign origin through a sociological survey and studied in detail the history of the emergence of ten of them. These are lexical units that can be characterized not only as neologisms of exclusively foreign origin, but also as words of a mixed type, which are a combination of kango, words formed from roots of Chinese origin, and borrowings, as well as abbreviations of both types of new words. The work reflects the relationship between social processes in the country against the background of the international Japanese-American confrontation and the emergence of neologisms that entered the Japanese language.

Cross-lexicographic analysis of the concepts of sociopolitical discourse of the Chinese language

The object of this research is the concepts of sociopolitical discourse of the Chinese language, selected by the continuous sampling method. The subject of this research is the cross-lexicographic coefficient, which is derived mathematically within the framework of the cross-lexicographic analysis of these concepts. The goal is set to determine the diachronic changes in the meanings of lexemes of sociopolitical discourse via cross-lexicographic analysis based on dictionary materials compiled by the prominent Russian and foreign sinologists over the period from 1888 to 2002. Attention is drawn to such theoretical concepts as semantics, pragmatics and discourse. Description is given to the key characteristics of sociopolitical discourse, as well as the methodology of formation of the corresponding conceptual apparatus. The research leans on the method of continuous sampling from lexicographic sources. The scientific novelty lies in the development of innovative methods of statistical analysis of the conceptual apparatus of sociopolitical discourse of the modern Chinese language. Among the acquired results, the author notes the transformation of meanings of the selected lexemes through the analysis of metalanguage of the dictionaries. The uniqueness of this article consists in the analysis of the vast range of the previously unpublished archival lexicographic sources of the Chinese language. The author also reveals the dynamics of changes in the selected lexical means by means of the derived cross-lexicographic coefficient, as well as determines the key vectors of their discursive transformations and evolution of linguopragmatic functions.

Syntactic peculiarities of Turkish news materials

This article reviews the syntactic peculiarities of Turkish news materials determined as result of analysis of the most reputable Turkish online news sources, such as Anadolu Ajansı, Hürriyet, Cumhuriyet etc. The key syntactic peculiarity of news materials is the direct order of words in sentences (SOV) without inversion. News reports usually represent a set of simple sentences, which are complicated by the extended sentence parts (most commonly with forms ending with -DIğI/-AcAğI) and homogeneous parts of the sentence. News materials are characterized by the use of simple sentences, in which the subject is expressed in forms ending with -DIğI/-AcAğI or the verb name ending with -mA, while the predicate is in passive voice. Extended participial clauses with a semi-predicative meaning, pronounced present or past participle ending with -An. The subordinate word of such participial clauses is generally the subject of the superordinate clause. The article examines the formats of direct and indirect speech, lists the most commonly used phrases that introduce direct speech, as well as provides the examples of sentences that contain both direct and indirect speech. The author also cites statistical data on the prevalence of sentences containing direct and indirect speech in news materials. The article lists grammatical structures typical for sociopolitical discourse. These include constructions with the verb ‘bulunmak’ (to have), the peculiarity of which lies in replacement of verbs such as ‘ifade etmek’ (to express), “çağırmak” (to call) , etc. by compound nominal structures in locative case, which forms a single-affix ezāfe with the previous phrase and the verb ‘bulunmak’ (to have). Construction is -DIğI görüşünde or -AcAğI görüşünde.is commonly uses alongside constructions with the verb ‘bulunmak’.

Representing Johannesburg in transformation: urban experience, imageries, and the work of art by David Koloane, Jo Ractliffe and Anthea Moys

This paper focuses on artistic engagements with urban change in Johannesburg. The guiding questions are: (1) How do artists perceive and reflect urbanity, social change, and the transition of inner-city Johannesburg within their work? (2) In what ways can artworks contribute to Southern theories and decolonial and pluriversal conceptions of the city? The paper consists of three parts. The first offers a conceptual framing of the relationship between images, imageries, and imagination and their relation to artistic representation and practice. The second part focuses on the work of David Koloane, Jo Ractliffe and Anthea Moys between the late 1990s and the early 2010s, whose artistic work relates in various ways to urban imaginaries, individual experience, and the visual representation of Johannesburg. Inspired by the concepts of cityness and invisibility (Simone), the third part of the paper discusses the interplay between individual positionality and urban experience, the role of socio-political discourses and urban imageries for the artistic expression as well as the potential of such analysis for theorizing urban life and its artistic representations from pluriversal perspectives, as suggested by proponents of decolonial theories.

From the books to the screens, to the memes and beyond: Fans’ notions of Game of Thrones as an adaptation

Parting from the awareness that not all consumers of US media are located within the geographical and linguistic context of the United States, this article contributes to media sociology with an approximation to the fandom of transnationally popular texts. Empirical findings presented here draw from a broader qualitative study on the reception of the series Game of Thrones (GoT) by 21 viewers from Argentina, Spain and Germany. Here I build on participants’ responses to both the original novels by George R.R. Martin and the series adaptation by HBO as distinctive media texts to explore notions of authorship, adaptation and cultural legitimacy. Given the polysemic, intertextual quality of contemporary’s memetic culture, I also discuss a case of digital re-appropriation of GoT’s characters within sociopolitical discourses in Argentina.

Signifying Difference

AbstractThis essay considers the ways in which Honoré de Balzac and George Sand, an influential pair of “public writers” who were committed to diametrically opposing sociopolitical discourses, constructed aspects of their authorial identities and indeed the social import of their oeuvres in a self-conscious exchange with, and about, one another. In letters, novels, memoirs, and paratexts from their first encounter in the early 1830s to the end of their careers, Balzac and Sand portrayed, parodied, quoted, misquoted, alluded to, wrote, and rewrote each other in ways that their contemporary readers would doubtless have recognized. In considering some of these various invocations in terms of a larger dialogue between this pair of influential authors, surprising intersections emerge that complicate our current conceptions of the relationship between Balzac’s and Sand’s works. Reflecting on the dialogical generation of meaning, I trace the ways in which reading Balzac and Sand together reveals a complex and continuing conversation between the two authors about similarity, difference, and the dialectical nature of identity. This ongoing intertextual exchange, I argue, helps us see how their literary, social, and political positions as “public writers” were to some extent dependent on constructions of each other.

‘Another Version of the Truth’: The politics of affect and the externalization of threat in Trent Reznor’s Year Zero

This article explores Nine Inch Nails’ album Year Zero (2007) with reference to what Brian Massumi calls the ‘politics of affect’ in the post 9/11 era. The sociopolitical discourse of managed threat both contextualizes and shapes the album’s conceptual basis, but also its lyricism, live manifestation and marketing. I propose a trajectory in Trent Reznor’s lyricism from an early introspective and confessional style to defensive and anxious tropes, emotions within a structure of feeling synonymous with the post 9/11 years. I argue that the album is a document that both reflects and critiques the overlapping social, cultural and political arenas of this era, and was particularly responsive to neoconservative discourse in its delivery, accompanying media and live performance.

«Russian mission in Persia» and the problem of mutual (mis)understanding in Russian-British relations in the late 19 – early 20 century

The paper attempts to interpret the problem of Russian-British relations in Qajar Iran as a problem of mutual misunderstanding. It is postulated that the development of Russian-British relations in the 19th century (as well as their interpretation) took place in a situation of confrontation, which directly influenced the prospects for their improvement after the conclusion of the 1907 agreement. The both parties own languages of discussion and interpretation of Russian-British relations in Persia, developed over the decades of the Great Game, hindered the building of a productive constructive dialogue, driving political actors into the trap of already formed meanings and ideologemes. Thus, the concept of the Russian mission in Persia, which was significant for the Russian socio-political discourse, presupposed the legitimacy and justification of the widest Russian intervention in (Northern) Iran, the use of a wide variety of means of conducting its own policy. However, in the British society such approaches and interpretations did not find understanding, the language developed for discussing the Persian issue and Russian policy was invective in relation to Russia and did not allow adopting the meanings, organic for the latter. The understanding of this problem by the key actors did not lead to a fundamental change in the situation.

‘Safe Space’ for Jewish and Arab Teachers Dealing with Controversial Issues

ABSTRACT This research examines perceptions of 51 teachers in Israeli society, about the national educational theme project “Maintaining unitedness, maintaining uniqueness.” This topic is highly controversial in the divided Israeli society. This research mainly conceptualizes the ways in which teachers negotiate the governmental mission while creating their own “safe space,” in which they can operate safely: (1) a conversion of the socio-political discourse into a person-oriented discourse; (2) embodiment of an intra-national particularity approach; and (3) elaboration of significant consensual aspects of the society. This research stimulates a reexamination of teachers’ pedagogical leadership and it also comprises recommendations for policymakers.

Neologisms in socio-political discourse of the modern french language

The article is devoted to investigation of functional status and structural characteristics of lexical innovations in socio-political discourse of the French language. The research material constitutes explanatory dictionaries of French such as Le Petit Larousse, Le Petit Robert and online versions of periodicals (daily newspapers Le Monde, Le Figaro, weekly magazine Le Nouvel Observateur). Urgency of the research calls forth necessity of accurate definition of the notion “neologism” and as a consequence theoretical grounds of mechanisms of vocabulary neologization on the basis of picked out criteria for its description. The aim of the research is study of mechanisms of activization and functioning of neologisms in socio-political discourse of the French language. It is shown in the article that in spite of active dynamics of vocabulary of modern politics lexicographical fixation of neologisms is distinguished by sufficient caution by virtue of objective reasons. Particular attention is given to analysis of content plane of lexical units taken from explanatory dictionaries of French. The most productive ways of formation of lexical neologisms in socio-political sphere of French is reviewed. The novelty of the study is in the involvement of media texts analysis data to discover the main vectors of the modern French language vocabulary development.

Explaining "-splain" in digital discourse

Combining digital discourse analysis and Citizen Sociolinguistics, methodological frames that contend with the effects of evolving digital practices, I present an approach to studying sociolinguistic trends by investigating how social media users talk about what language is doing.
 This approach is applicable to research on a wide range of linguistic and cultural contexts. The particular focus in this paper, however, is on U.S.-based social issues and linguistic features of American English as they appear in pieces of digital discourse from the micro-blogging platforms Twitter and Tumblr. Situated within the highly fractured sociopolitical climate of the pandemic-afflicted United States, the language under discussion provides a glimpse of some historically relevant sociocultural beliefs and attitudes towards the role of gender and racial identity in sociopolitical discourse. Focusing on uses of -splain, a metapragmatic bound morpheme, the paper demonstrates how social media users assemble lexical, discursive, and other semiotic resources as means for negotiating sociopragmatic appropriateness. The analysis shows how the usage of words like mansplain encompass the sociolinguistic process of enregisterment through practices of linguistic reflexivity, creativity, and regimentation – practices that are essential aspects of interaction and participation in social media. Using these enregistered metapragmatic words problematizes imbalances in users’ sociopragmatic ideologies, namely who can or cannot say what, to whom, and in what manner. I show how creative metapragmatic language is deployed to discuss issues of entitlement and epistemic authority in communicative dynamics. I draw on theoretical frames that reveal how the recontextualization and resemiotization of -splain words and other metapragmatic neologisms are performances of identity. I also show how splain-mediated communication facilitates users in achieving their own discursive intentions to point out language in judgmental and/or lighthearted manners. I assert that attention to metapragmatic neologisms in the perspective of Citizen Sociolinguistics enhances the analytical repertoire of digital discourse analysis.

Neopatrimonialism and Party Clientelism

The article deals with the features of formation of the party systems in the post-Soviet space. To understand the specific processes, the attention is focused on the inverse logic of the post-Soviet states, the basic features of which can be expressed by the concept of neopatrimonialism. In this context the functioning features of political parties, their principal tasks and the logic of creating the "power party" are described. The article examines the key criteria for the concept of the dominant party, such as its ability to consistently and steadily win the elections, the significant duration of its stay in power, as well as its personnel Control over the government. In the sociopolitical discourse the "power party" enjoys a privileged ideological position and has more opportunities compared to its competitors to appeal to voters. Along with that the party dominance reveals itself not only in its external manifestation (the stay in power), but also in the substantial one – the ability to exercise an effective political choice. The article analyzes the factors of sustainability of the "power party" systems: the historical merits of the "power party"; the ruling party’s ability to effectively take advantage of the electoral system; its strong relationships with the most affluent social groups and major corporations, as well as with the predominant ethnic or linguistic social groups; a privileged access of the ruling party to media resources. These factors are also effective in the polycentric political systems without any dominant party. However, under the dominant party systems they manifest themselves in a complex way, providing the ruling camp with a multi-layered protection due to a synergy effect. Particular attention is paid to the phenomenon of clientelism, widely used by the ruling party as a strategy of political mobilization. However, if discrimination arose by clientelism reaches the level that denies clients the right to choose, this is certainly not consistent with the rules of democracy.

Молодежь Кыргызстана и ее историческая память о Великой Победе

Presented are results of a sociological study (qualitative comparative analysis of in-depth interviews) in the historical memory of Kyrgyzstan young citizens as one of participating states of Eurasian integration, namely, their ideas about World War II and formation of historical memory, as well as understanding and interpretation of integration processes between countries of NIS. For the Soviet Union citizens, the victory in World War II was not just a socio-historical milestone. Social time is a key element in formation of historical memory. It is interesting how the social time of historical events can be interpreted quite subjectively in a given community. Since the Victory was the most important event in the history of the Soviet Union, it can be assumed that historical memory of the war serves as a social link of integration processes. Therefore, the study of descendants historical memory of the victors in the Great Patriotic War becomes an interesting and scientifically urgent task. The specificity of this study was the methodology based on the use of a qualitative comparative analysis of results of in-depth interviews of Kyrgyzstan young citizens. More than 400 persons were interviewed using a non-random sample, and no less than 50 informants from each group, selected by the snowball method. The empirical object of research is the youth of the Kyrgyzstan Republic, belonged to the generation of “millennials” and “postmillennials” (18–38 years old). The historical memory of the Great Victory is largely connected with today’s ideas about the Eurasian integration of the NIS. Although it would seem that the content of the social memory of young people does not have a direct impact on the process of Eurasian integration, but as a potential force, it can spontaneously manifest itself in public life, or under certain conditions and the presence of an organized force, it can be included in the socio-political discourse.

Narrative and metaphors in New Zealand’s efforts to eliminate COVID‐19

This commentary considers the ways in which spatialised metaphors were mobilised within a larger narrative in the quest to eliminate COVID‐19 in Aotearoa/New Zealand. In doing so, it examines the links between language and socio‐political discourse, focusing on tropes that invoke and engage with geographies of everyday life. The foundational contention is that, to a large extent, language constructs our lived reality. After reviewing scholarship linking language and disease, the commentary turns to a case study of New Zealand’s response to COVID‐19. The public health goal was to instil caution and protective practices in the population at large as a defence against transmission. The role of narrative and metaphor in daily press conferences from the Prime Minister and Director General of Health through March and April 2020 is examined by drawing on evidence from media reporting. Three key metaphors are considered: bubbles, levels, and the team, with each metaphor having spatialised implications in the popular imagination. The commentary considers perceptual and behavioural implications of this strategic use of metaphor. I speculate on the ways in which language has an agency such that, until the widespread availability of vaccine, an infectious disease can be restricted through mobilising the population.

Linguistic manipulation as a method of influencing public opinion in the time of COVID-19 pandemic

The subject of this research is the effective methods of linguistic manipulation and communication, which allowed controlling the situation to prevent public panic and destabilization of situation in the Sakha Republic (Yakutia) during the pandemic. The authors explore such phenomena as persuasion and linguistic manipulation, analyze the existing in Russian and foreign practice scientific and practical approaches towards using linguistic manipulation in sociopolitical discourse. Based on the example of speeches of the Head of the Sakha Republic (Yakutia) A. S. Nikolayev, the authors analyze the linguistic means and techniques used in the course of development of epidemiological situation for influencing public opinion in the Sakha Republic (Yakutia); determine the reasons and frequency of application of such techniques, the degree of persuasion of public opinion by the head of Yakutia depending on the used communication channels. The research employs the website content of the Government of the Sakha Republic (Yakutia), regional news sites, and addressed messages in social networks. The main results lies in the conclusion that the most effective methods of linguistic manipulation are persuasion, convincing and prompting, which affect emotions and feelings of the people and appeal to the key social agenda – safety of the population in the time of pandemic. It is noted that social networks are the effective communication channels, which is justified by the geographical and sociopolitical peculiarities of the region, such as large territory preservation of the elements of traditional political cultures (power of the authority, leader, direct communication with the government and a sense being protected). Linguistic manipulation allows influencing public opinion, avoiding mass disturbances, instilling the sense of security into population.

The queer aesthetics of la PrEP: iconography, the pharmacopornographic regime, and (safe) sex in the French neoliberal marketplace

This article offers an analysis of an array of French pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) campaigns through the pharmacopornographic framework established in the works of transfeminist philosopher Paul Preciado. Throughout, I argue that the material and discursive presentation of PrEP in these campaigns, part of a more expansive injection of biomedical protocols into the global marketplace, invites us to (re)consider binary conceptualizations of queer and non-queer subjectivities, normal and pathological sexual subjectivities, and good and bad sexual citizenship often through biomedical and neoliberal perspectives. Additionally, I propose the critical concept, biotechsex, to describe the biotech circuit that simultaneously subjectifies users and non-users of biotechnologies, like the PrEP option, and circumscribes them within a dynamic network of socio-political discourses concerning morality, ethics, pathology, and desire, a circuit formed and informed by the more specific French ideologies of universalism and communitarianism.

National identity in the discourse of political elites of Poland and Hungary

The article analyses the position of the political elites of Poland and Hungary, who see the strengthening of European integration processes as a threat to national sovereignty and national identity. The authors link the emergence of interest to the problem of the crisis of national identity with the intensification of the activities of right-wing political parties and movements in these countries, which are trying to introduce the idea of right-wing populism into the public consciousness. The beliefs about the unity of society and the revival of traditional values form the basis of right-wing populist ideas. The methodological basis of the study was the comparative method and framing analysis. The comparative method allowed comparing the political rhetoric of the elites of Poland and Hungary, and with the help of framing analysis, the essence of the problem of the crisis of national identity was specified by highlighting its basic parameters. It is proved that the socio-political discourse around the problem of national identity has some differences in these countries. This is due to the historical and cultural background of these countries. It is emphasized that right-wing populist parties and movements offer certain ways to respond to the problem of loss of national sovereignty and national identity, namely the consolidation of society based on cultural and religious values, strong advocacy of state interests in the EU structures, pressure on the EU within the Visegrád Group, and others. The authors believe that the broad socio-political discourse on the problem of national identity is a manifestation of "identity politics". It aims to introduce desirable assessments of the political situation and to implement traditional collective values and vision into the public consciousness by right-wing populist political parties and movements.

You Have One New Message

Knitting is often practiced as a group activity that takes place in the domestic environment. Besides the collectivity, using motifs with meanings has also facilitated communication between people. Building on these ideas, a workshop was designed to facilitate discussions about everyday concerns or experiences, both on personal and societal levels, to strengthen communication with the self and others. In the workshop, the thirteen participants were asked to design a motif to convey a message to themselves, to the group or to the society. Through a group discussion, the motifs stemming from personal experiences were knitted, shared and discussed. The topics emerging from the workshop indicates that knitting affords intimate exchanges between the self and others, and connects people by facilitating socio-political discussions, such as on environmental sustainability, women rights and self-development.

Public Infrastructure Procurement Practice and Challenges in the Bamenda Municipality, North West Region Cameroon

Public infrastructures play a significant role in poverty reduction, human development and spatial interaction of the population. The practices of stakeholders in the procurement system in Bamenda are a controversy in the contemporary socio-political discourse. Through these practices, public infrastructures are provided to and for the population. This paper seeks to uncover the myriad of challenges involved in the procurement practices in Bamenda. The study made use of both qualitative and quantitative data, obtained using secondary and primary sources from documentary exploration and extensive field work. Secondary sources included books, annual reports and archives of Divisional and Regional Delegations, Inspectorates of Education, Regional Institute of Statistics and Public Contracts Regulatory Agency, North West amongst others. Primary data was obtained over three months of extensive field investigations through questionnaires interviews and focus group discussions. A GPS was utilized to obtain geographic coordinates of publicly procured infrastructures, particularly health, educational and road infrastructures. Results reveal that there is complexity in the way procurement is undertaken for socio-economic benefits to the population. Procurement principles are ineffectively applied, leading to inefficient execution of contracts. Late payment of contract funds amongst others is a cause of inefficient execution and lateness in the delivery of procurement output in the domains of health, roads and educational infrastructures. The study recommends project owners to release contract funds earlier than usual and contractors who enhance poor execution of projects and uncivil road users who facilitate road degradation or cause damages to projects be severely sanctioned. The Law No. 73/7 of 7 December 1973 on the preferential claim of the treasury to safeguard public funds by Municipal and Regional Councils should be effectively implemented.