The Politics of Sacred Rhetoric: Absolutist Appeals and Political Persuasion

2013 ◽  
Vol 55 (3) ◽  
pp. 583-584
Author(s):  
T. M. Lessl
Keyword(s):  
Political Persuasion ◽  
Sacred Rhetoric

Ambiguities of “Insider-ness” in the Study of Religion

2017 ◽  
Vol 11 (2) ◽  
pp. 157-169
Author(s):  
Serawit Debele
Keyword(s):  
Multiple Identities ◽  
Ethnic Background ◽  
Research Participants ◽  
Economic Context ◽  
Ambiguous Position ◽  
Political Persuasion

Based on the author’s experience in conducting fieldwork on religion in Ethiopia, in this article she analyses the complexities of being an insider in a certain socio-political and economic context. Instead of ascribing an essence to insider-ness as a straightforward and definite category, it is argued that insider-ness is a product of dynamic and complex intersubjective interactions and processes. It is an ambiguous position marked by a continuous shift resulting from the researcher’s navigations between multiple identities at different times and environments in relation to research participants. As pointed out by Bourke (2014), the perpetual flux of one’s identity as an insider or an outsider stems from the researcher’s position: gender, class, ethnic background and religious as well as political persuasion. Furthermore, in as much as one enjoys the associated benefits thereof, the insider is faced with myriad challenges due to her or his variegated identities that in turn inform interlocutors’ perceptions, expectations and responses.

The Persuasion Effects of Political Endorsements

2019 ◽  
pp. 223-242
Author(s):  
Cheryl Boudreau
Keyword(s):  
Political Parties ◽  
Observational Study ◽  
Interest Groups ◽  
Experimental Research ◽  
Theoretical Models ◽  
Political Information ◽  
Controlled Environment ◽  
Ongoing Research ◽  
Open Questions ◽  
Political Persuasion

Political endorsements (recommendations about which candidate or policy to support) are ubiquitous in political contexts. They may come from political parties, interest groups, politicians, or even celebrities. Can uninformed citizens identify endorsers who share their interests and use their recommendations as substitutes for detailed political information? This chapter surveys the literature on the persuasion effects of political endorsements. It first provides an overview of theoretical models that examine how political endorsements affect citizens’ choices. Then, it describes a seminal observational study of how endorsements affect political persuasion. It next discusses experimental research that assesses the effects of endorsements. It emphasizes that experiments are particularly useful for identifying when political endorsements will persuade citizens because they allow scholars to manipulate the conditions that theoretical models identify in a carefully controlled environment. It concludes by discussing open questions about the effects of political endorsements and describing how ongoing research addresses them.

Rhetorical moves in political discourse: closing statements by presidential candidates in US primary election debates

2021 ◽  
Vol 0 (0) ◽  
Author(s):  
Christoph Schubert
Keyword(s):  
Political Discourse ◽  
Political Agenda ◽  
Election Campaigns ◽  
Sample Analysis ◽  
Presidential Candidates ◽  
Primary Election ◽  
Presidential Primary ◽  
The Usa ◽  
Discourse Studies ◽  
Political Persuasion

Abstract Presidential primary debates in the USA are commonly concluded by brief closing statements, in which the competitors outline the central messages of their election campaigns. These statements constitute a subgenre characterized by a set of recurring rhetorical moves, which are defined as functional units geared towards the respective communicative objective, in this case political persuasion. Located at the interface of rhetorical move analysis and political discourse studies, this paper demonstrates that moves and embedded steps in closing statements fulfill the persuasive function of legitimizing the respective candidate as the most preferable presidential successor. The study is based on the transcripts of 98 closing statements, which were extracted from eight Democratic and eleven Republican primary debates held between August 2015 and April 2016. Typical moves, such as projecting the speaker’s future political agenda or diagnosing the current situation in America, are presented with the help of illustrative examples, frequencies of occurrence, and a sample analysis of a complete closing statement.

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