When Politicians Talk: The Cultural Dynamics of Public Speaking

Preface
Contents
Contributors
1 Introduction: Assessing Cultural Influences on Political Leaders’ Discourse
	1.1 Introduction
	1.2 The Concept of Culture
	1.3 The Discourse of Public Figures
		1.3.1 Informing the Public
		1.3.2 Entertaining Audiences
		1.3.3 Persuading the Audience
	1.4 The Contributions
	References
Part I Religion
2 Deep Culture: The Hebrew Bible and Israeli Political Speech
	2.1 Introduction
		2.1.1 What Is Not Included in This Study
		2.1.2 Four Preliminary Points
		2.1.3 Modes of Israeli Political Speech
	2.2 Jewish Historical-Cultural Themes and Their Modern Expression
		2.2.1 Historical Memory
		2.2.2 Victimization
		2.2.3 Miscellaneous Quotations—Bible and Prayer Book
	2.3 Discussion and Conclusion
	References
3 Qur’anifying Public Political Discourse: Islamic Culture and Religious Rhetoric in Arabic Public Speaking
	3.1 Introduction
	3.2 The Influence of the Qur’an on Muslim Lives
	3.3 Structural and Thematic Features of the Qur’an
	3.4 Conceptualizing Arabic Linguaculture
	3.5 Design and Analysis
	3.6 Findings
		3.6.1 Semantic-Pragmatic Dimension
		3.6.2 Poetic Dimension
		3.6.3 Identity Dimension
	3.7 Conclusion
	References
4 The Role of Culture in Turkish Political Discourse: President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and The Justice and Development Party
	4.1 Introduction
	4.2 Setting the Context: Social Structure and Turkey’s Cultural Values
		4.2.1 Modernity and Westernization
		4.2.2 Features of Turkish Culture and Social Structure
		4.2.3 The Rise of Islamism as a Political Movement
		4.2.4 The JDP’s Establishment
	4.3 Method
	4.4 Findings
		4.4.1 Pre-2001 Period
		4.4.2 The Period between 2001 and 2018
	4.5 Conclusion
	References
5 The Symbolic Construction of a Messiah: Jair Bolsonaro’s Public, Christian Discourse
	5.1 Introduction
	5.2 Culture, Politics, and Religion in Discourse
		5.2.1 Christianity in Brazil
	5.3 Research Design
		5.3.1 Making a Messiah: Analyzing Bolsonaro's Use of Christianity
		5.3.2 Methodology
	5.4 Findings
		5.4.1 Framing Devices
		5.4.2 Reasoning Devices
		5.4.3 Implicit (Socio-)Cultural Phenomena
	5.5 Conclusion
	References
Part II History, Economy, Climate/Geography, and Majority/Minority Relations
6 Rationality and Moderation: German Chancellors’ Post-War Rhetoric
	6.1 Introduction
	6.2 On the Absence of Notable Speeches in Post-War Germany
	6.3 Determinants of Political Culture in Post-War Germany
	6.4 Methodology
	6.5 Analysis of Selected Speeches
		6.5.1 Rationality
		6.5.2 Moderation
	6.6 Conclusion
	References
7 Talking Politics: The Influence of Historical and Cultural Transformations on Polish Political Rhetoric
	7.1 Introduction
	7.2 Main Trends in Polish Political Rhetoric—Overview and Contextualization
	7.3 Main Tropes and Rhetorical Devices—Exemplification
		7.3.1 Historical References in Presidential Rhetoric
		7.3.2 Metaphors and Tropes in PMs’ Inaugurals and Parliamentary Debates
		7.3.3 Populist Streaks in Polish Political Rhetoric
	7.4 Conclusion
	References
8 A Tale of Two Prime Ministers: The Influence of Greek Culture in Post-Crises Political Speech
	8.1 Introduction
	8.2 Greek Political Culture
		8.2.1 Cultural Frames in Political Communication
	8.3 Methodology
	8.4 Findings
		8.4.1 The Contribution of Culture to the Frames of Mitsotakis
		8.4.2 The Contribution of Culture to the Frames of Tsipras
	8.5 Discussion
	References
9 Rhetoric, Culture, and Climate Wars: A Discursive Analysis of Australian Political Leaders’ Responses to the Black Summer Bushfire Crisis
	9.1 Introduction
	9.2 Theoretical Framework: The Materiality and Discursivity of Australian Culture, Rhetoric, and Its Climate Wars
	9.3 Research Approach
	9.4 Findings
		9.4.1 Results Part I: Media Analysis, January 1–7, 2020
		9.4.2 Results Part II: The Day of Condolences Speeches, February 4, 2020
	9.5 Discussion, Implications, and Conclusions
		9.5.1 Ongoing Proxy Climate Wars
		9.5.2 Legitimating Settler-Colonialism in Crisis
		9.5.3 Theoretical Implications: Symbiotic Relations of Political Culture and Rhetoric
	References
10 The Core Socio-Cultural Building Blocks Underlying Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s Speeches to the United Nations General Assembly
	10.1 Introduction and Background
	10.2 Characteristics of Israeli-Jewish Culture
		10.2.1 Jewish Heritage and Religion
		10.2.2 Isolation
		10.2.3 Believing That Dreams Can Become Real
	10.3 Methodology
	10.4 Findings and Discussion—Themes of Israeliness in the Prime Minister's Speeches
		10.4.1 From “I Have Made You a Light Unto the Nations” to “Israel is the Innovation Nation”
		10.4.2 “The People of Israel Pray for Peace” but are Faced with “The Same Old Antisemitism with a Brand-New Face”
		10.4.3 “We Faced Inquisition and Expulsion… Pogroms and the Holocaust. Yet the Jewish People Persevered” Because “We Have a Record of Making the Impossible Possible”
	10.5 Conclusion
	References
Part III Social Structure, Values, Popular and New-Culture Elements
11 The President as Macho: Machismo, Misogyny, and the Language of Toxic Masculinity in Philippine Presidential Discourse
	11.1 Introduction
	11.2 Machismo, Misogyny, and Toxic Masculinity
	11.3 Duterte and His Toxic Masculinity
	11.4 The Language of Toxic Masculinity in the Philippine Presidency
		11.4.1 Estrada, the Marcoses, and Anti-Women Rhetoric
		11.4.2 Toxic Masculinity in Pre-Marcos Presidencies
		11.4.3 Women Presidents as Extensions of Macho Discourse
	11.5 Conclusion
	References
12 Decoding Japanese Poiticians’ Rhetoric: Socio-Cultural Features of Public Speaking
	12.1 The Dual Nature of Language
		12.1.1 Prime Minister’s Speeches and Press Conference
		12.1.2 Parliament Committees Discourse
	12.2 Historical Manifestations, Socio-Cultural Norms, and Values Rationales
		12.2.1 Historical Effects on Communicational Modes
		12.2.2 Decision-Making and Negotiation Style Traditions
		12.2.3 Harmony in a Group-Oriented Society
	12.3 Words as a “Double-Edged Sword”
		12.3.1 Personality Factors Affecting Careless Talk
		12.3.2 Situational Factors Affecting Careless Talk
	12.4 Gaffe Prevention Manual and Political Information
	References
13 Culture and Politics in Contemporary China: A Cultural-Rhetorical Analysis of Xi Jinping’s Three Speeches in 2019
	13.1 Introduction
	13.2 Confucian Influence on Chinese Politics
		13.2.1 Confucius
		13.2.2 Mencius
	13.3 Rhetorical Legacy of Mao Zedong
		13.3.1 Mao’s Rhetoric of Serving the People
		13.3.2 Mao’s Rhetoric of Nationalism
		13.3.3 A Vision of a Strong and Powerful China
	13.4 Rhetorical Analysis of Xi Jinping’s Speeches
		13.4.1 Putting People First
		13.4.2 Boosting Nationalism
		13.4.3 Envisioning a Bright Future
	13.5 Discussion and Conclusion
	References
14 Popular Culture in the Service of Populist Politics in Spain: Pablo Iglesias’ Parliamentary Speech as Leader of the Podemos Party
	14.1 Introduction
	14.2 Podemos: Texts and Contexts Beyond the Borders of Populism
		14.2.1 The “Two Spains”: Cultural Factors Behind the Us/Them Polarization
		14.2.2 Podemos and the Cultural Referents of Left-Wing Politics: From the “Gauche Divine” to “Los Chikos del Maíz”
	14.3 Methodology and Corpus
	14.4 “Taking the Heaven by Storm”: Chronological Analysis of Pablo Iglesias’ Speeches from 15-M to the Vice-Presidency of the Government
		14.4.1 The Parliamentary Speeches of Pablo Iglesias: Context, Culture and Conceptual Frameworks
	14.5 Conclusions
	References
15 Donald Trump: Dividing America Through New-Culture Speech
	15.1 Introduction
	15.2 The Context—Legitimacy Crisis, Culture War, and Populism
	15.3 Stage One: Trump’s Rhetoric Affected by Traditional Culture
		15.3.1 But Traditional Culture Was Validated by Reality TV
	15.4 Stage Two: Trump Brings to Politics New-Culture Elements Drawn from Reality TV
		15.4.1 Blatant, Unapologetic Aggression
		15.4.2 Reasons for Success: Invitations That Attracted Supporters
		15.4.3 Voluminous, Hyperbolic Mendacity
		15.4.4 The Call to Violence
	15.5 Stage Three: Going to Extremes—The Last Year of Trump’s Presidency
		15.5.1 Lying
		15.5.2 The Call to Violence
	15.6 Conclusion
	References
Part IV Cultural Convergence and Discourse Divergence
16 Commentary: Choice and Innovation in the Interaction of Political Discourse with Culture
	16.1 Introduction
	16.2 Approaches to Culture
	16.3 Comparing Contributors’ Concepts of Culture
	16.4 Political Discourse as Selection Among Cultural Options
	16.5 Cultural Innovation in Political Discourse
	16.6 Coda
	References
Index