In reelection bid, Merkel’s not just up against a xenophobic, nationalist party in Germany. In the wake of Trump’s election, liberal democracies around the world hope she’ll defend them, too.
An expert in political rhetoric singles out Trump’s repeated use of reification – the tendency to treat people as things – and the role it’s played in his tortured response to the leaked tape.
Australian politicians – unlike their American counterparts – have largely abandoned the art of stirring speeches. Good rhetoric doesn’t equal good policy, but at least it’s evidence of imaginative thinking.
The same forces that drive belief in conspiracy theories are the ones driving the rise of Donald Trump. So it’s no wonder that, less than two months until the election, he continues to dabble in and promote them.
From Alfonso the Wise’s bawdy songs of slander to Ronald Reagan’s sunny smile, politics and humor have gone hand-in-hand for centuries. But no one seems to be laughing anymore.
Trump appeared surprisingly presidential. According to a scholar of American political rhetoric, there were echoes of Roosevelt, Eisenhower and Reagan.
Unscrupulous politicians are adept at using regressive story lines that feed insecurities. That could be dangerous ahead of South Africa’s hotly-contested municipal elections.
Two experts in political rhetoric explain how one candidate has used rhetorical devices like framing and ‘argumentum in terrorem’ to stoke fear and attract voters since the Orlando nightclub shooting.
The faultlines in democratic politics are clear. On one side is a system of democracy that is bad at making people feel represented. On the other are anti-politician performers like Donald Trump.
Research from the University of Maryland suggests that ‘Trump culture’ is part of human culture, and has its roots in warfare, famine and natural disasters.
A politician’s final statement as leader is their chance to have the last word. Tony Abbott’s speech was telling in both what he chose to say and not to say.
A budget speech that fails to discuss basic measures of how the economy going is revealing in itself. Joe Hockey is the first treasurer since at least 1981 not to mention GDP.