The Rhetoric of Political Leadership

‘The Rhetoric of Political Leadership provides insight into both the rational and emotional attributes of political discourse more broadly and political rhetoric and their effects more specifically. The book is well-written and provides fascinating insight into political language, discourse and rhetoric from across the globe. It would be of interest to postgraduate students, scholars/researchers in the fields of linguistics, communication and politics who wish to understand the myriad of rhetorical techniques and tools that politicians use to persuade the public and the implications and impact on the audience. The key strengths of the book can be summarised as its reference to political discourse from a diverse range of contexts and countries, its dedicated section on social media discourse as well chapters which drew on multimodal discourse analysis.’
– Neda Salahshour, Journal of Language and Politics

''This volume is a must-read collection for scholars working in and across the fields of political science, social psychology, media communication and discourse studies. It does not only offer cutting-edge perspectives on rational and emotional attributes of political rhetoric, but also on their effects across a wide variety of societies and venues.''
– Anita Fetzer, University of Augsburg, Germany

‘Cutting-edge analyses reveal how politicians use public self-presentations to recruit the loyalists who empower them, whether by voting or by oppressing. Both linguistic and paralinguistic behaviors are examined across a broad variety of cultures and languages, in both traditional and new media, and under both democratic and dictatorial institutions. Innovative methodologies and novel techniques uncover general patterns as well as peculiarities specific to particular national settings. Together the authors push the study of political communication to new frontiers.’
– Richard Anderson, University of California, Los Angeles, US

‘Ofer Feldman offers a comprehensive study of contemporary political communication that centers in key countries such as the United States, United Kingdom, the Netherlands, Israel, China, Japan and others. The focus on politicians’ evocative communication promotes a fresh look at how leaders resort to persuasive techniques that allow content and style to secure adherents. The book’s international focus adds great insights to those interested in world political communication and expands readers’ understanding of the rise of populism as a rhetorical objective.’
– Amos Kiewe, Syracuse University, US

‘This volume contributes usefully to our growing understanding of political language as a form of strategic communication. The global range of the examples is admirable, reminding us that, while media platforms are increasingly international, meaning is still culturally specific.’
– Stephen Coleman, University of Leeds, UK

‘This book brings together a fascinating collection of special essays that illuminate the multiple roles of language in framing political issues, and in persuading others to support the proposals and decisions of political leaders. Case studies from selected countries, some rarely examined, explore how top political leaders use rhetoric strategies to mobilize the electorate, lead government, and to affect policy discourse and interventions. Anyone interested in the complex relationships between political rhetoric, leadership, and governance will find this book essential reading.’
– Ken Kinoshita, Fukuoka Institute of Technology, Japan

Contributors: M. Asano, C.S. Ben-Porat, Í.J. de Sousa, O. Feldman, A. Gayoso, M. Hameleers, I. Joathan, C. Johnson, M.A. Krasner, S. Lehman-Wilzig, F.P.J. Marques, B. Mendelski, M.S. Teer, A. Walter, J. Wang

Contents:

1 Introduction: persuasive speaking and evoking political
behavior 1
Ofer Feldman

PART I PERSUASIVE LEADERSHIP: EMOTION,
STYLE, AND IDENTITY IN NATIONAL AND
INTERNATIONAL ARENAS
2 Gender, emotion and political discourse: masculinity,
femininity and populism 16
Carol Johnson
3 What makes a speech effective? Netanyahu’s and
Obama’s SPECtrum of Rhetoric Intelligences (SPEC/RI)
in United Nations speeches 2009–2012 34
Michelle Stein Teer
4 Xi Jinping’s governance philosophy and language style:
analysis of the Chinese leader’s speeches 53
Jianxin Wang
5 The French state of emergency: marginalization of the
Muslim minority as a consequence of state self-legitimation 69
Bruno Mendelski

PART II EVOKING BEHAVIOR: THE RHETORIC
OF PRESIDENTIAL INAUGURATION,
TELEVISED INTERVIEW, AND ELECTION CAMPAIGN
6 Battling for America’s soul: Donald Trump, invited
behavior, and the midterm elections of 2018 86
Michael Alan Krasner
7 Political Public Relations (PPR) techniques: emotional
input and output 104
Albina Gayoso
8 The rhetoric of broadcast talk shows in Japan: the art of
equivocation as a political skill 139
Ofer Feldman
9 Politicians’ use of moral appeals in British political
advertising 1983–2017 156
Annemarie Walter
10 Facial expressions in election campaign posters: the
effect of smiling on winning political seats during the
2017 Japanese lower house election 172
Masahiko Asano

PART III SOCIAL MEDIA DISCOURSE: POPULISM,
NEGATIVE CAMPAIGNS, AND THE USE OF
ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE
11 They are lying to us! The rhetoric of direct communication
by populist politicians and its effects on the electorate:
evidence from the Netherlands 196
Michael Hameleers
12 Emotion, reason, and political attacks on Facebook : the
use of rhetorical appeals in the 2014 Brazilian presidential race 214
Ícaro Joathan and Francisco Paulo Jamil Marques
13 Political discourse through artificial intelligence:
parliamentary practices and public perceptions of chatbot
communication in social media 230
Chen Sabag Ben-Porat and Sam Lehman-Wilzig

Index 246