Does US presidential rhetoric affect asymmetric political violence?

Although political violence has proven to be difficult for governments to manage, predict or control, previous research on the impact of relevant federal government actions and US presidential rhetoric on terrorist attacks and hate crimes demonstrates that what the US government does matters in ways that are both expected and unexpected. In the US, government counterterrorism strategies changed rapidly in response to the September 11th, 2001 attacks on the US. The Bush administration formed a new executive department, centralised intelligence agencies, invested in tangible counterterrorism measures, implemented two invasions and occupations, and spoke publicly about terrorism on a near-daily basis. Yet much has changed since that research, as the US has since elected a president whose presidential campaign relied upon espousing antagonism towards Muslims, immigrants and other minority groups. Further, President Trump’s administration has repeatedly demonstrated its commitment to isolate and suppress Muslims as a strategy to combat Islamist extremism in contrast to previous administrations’ more cooperative approaches. This article considers what existing research tells us about whether and how the different actions of the Trump administration may fuel both Jihadi and far-right extremism.     

Ideological congruence between party rhetoric and policy-making

Scholars, citizens and journalists alike question whether political parties keep their electoral promises. A growing body of literature provides empirical evidence that parties do indeed keep their electoral pledges. Yet little is known about the congruence between party rhetoric between elections and the policies delivered by them. Given the increasing influence of party rhetoric in the media with respect to voting decisions, it is highly relevant to understand if parties ‘walk like they talk’. The article suggests that due to electoral reasons parties face strong incentives to deliver policy outputs which are congruent to their daily rhetoric. Analysing data on 54 policy outputs on nuclear energy, drafted by 24 parties after the Fukushima accident, the analysis finds overwhelming evidence that parties deliver ideologically congruent policy outputs to their rhetoric (incongruent only in 7.89%). These findings have important implications for our understanding of the linkage between party communication and the masses in modern media democracies.     

论《长生殿》中量词的修辞功能与表达效果

洪升的《长生殿》曲文之精美已达到令人叹为观止的高度，表现出洪升高超的语言驾驭能力。量词的运用在《长生殿》精湛的语言表达方面似乎是微不足道的一个方面，但除了表达量这一基本作用之外，其修辞方法运用的多样性和表达效果的丰富性，同样体现出作者曲文构思的精美和极高的美学追求；在主题的表达、写景状物、传情达意等方面也都发挥着独特的作用。     

论萧红小说的修辞特性

萧红是20世纪30年代一位独具风格的作家.在语言方面,她的小说很好地体现了"语言表达应配合一定的语境与情境",在不经意间展现出过人的叙事才能.她的语言存在是现代汉语语言运用的一个个案.她不期然达到的语言高度,是值得探究和借鉴的.     

穆时英小说的躯体修辞学

作家依据躯体修辞学建构的人物躯体形象,背后是特定的意义系统。穆时英小说前后期躯体形象具有不同特征:前期躯体形象体现的是传统历史叙事;后期躯体形象一方面展示出感官的放纵,另一方面呈现为精神的逃离。这种两难处境与西方现代人本主义哲学有很深关联,显示出作家文化选择上无法摆脱的精神困境。     

Unearthing the realities of rape: Utilising Victorian newspaper reportage to fill in the contextual gaps

This article examines the realities of rape and sexual offences and their treatment through the legal process by use of media reportage, Victorian and modern; using this to contextualise and so to challenge the official record. The starting point is an identification of what constitutes ‹best’ evidence for an exploration of rape and sexual offences – evidence that permits better insights into the impact of such offences on the individuals involved, as well as into the factors governing the ability of the criminal justice process to promote the conviction rate in rape cases. By using a comparative historical perspective, and using media presentations (especially newspaper reportage) this article shows the enduring nature of stereotypes which govern the decisions reached by legal personnel and by jurors – stereotypes which have, since the Victorian period, remained profoundly gendered in ways that are unhelpful to the ‹victims’.     

王安忆小说的叙事建构及读解

王安忆是个高产作家,其创作不仅高产而且有质量,因而吸引了许多评论者的目光,但对王安忆小说创作进行总体研究难度甚大。将王安忆小说文本的叙事修辞与作家的叙事理念相结合,在对其小说文本的叙事探究中注入修辞分析的元素,从修辞对话的层面阐释其小说创作,不失为一个新的视角。     

法律修辞的价值及其限度

古典的修辞学研究重心主要在于一种实践的说服行动以及与之相并行的说服方式,区别于当前的以修饰文辞为重心的修辞学研究,故而古典的修辞学与法律具有密切的关联。也正是在这个意义上,我们需要认真对待法律修辞,重新激活并发展法律修辞的当代价值。具体而言,法律修辞的价值主要体现在作为本体论的法律修辞和作为方法论的法律修辞这两个具有关联的方面。作为本体论的法律修辞主要是指法律本身也可看作一种修辞并可以从修辞学的视角对法律予以观照,作为方法论的法律修辞主要是指其于法律运行过程中的体现的诸多作用。当然,法律修辞的价值本身也存在限度,但这并不构成对法律修辞的否弃理由。     

Political science,political ideas and rhetoric

The article reviews ‘ideational’ analysis and theory in political science. It argues that this is an important area of research limited by lack of a clear sense of what ideas in politics are and of how to analyse them as directly as possible. It is argued that political science should learn from the ‘rhetorical turn’ in various areas of the social sciences, developing ways, appropriate to political science, of analysing the language, rhetoric and argumentation of political and policy discourse in its governmental contexts. Such an approach rests on a strong sense of the dynamic, contested and creative nature of political activity.     

Developing a rhetorical analysis of racist humour: examining anti-black jokes on the Internet

Racist humour is frequently the subject of media and public debate in relation to issues of offence and acceptability. Despite this, little has been done to analyse it or its relationship to other forms of racism. I argue that an analysis of racist humour needs to account for the rhetorical structures of humour – to consider humour as a rhetorical device similar to metaphor or metonym – that has a persuasive potential. Using jokes from four US websites, the rhetorical aspects of humour are unpacked through the use of rhetorical discourse analysis and semiotic theories of humour. I then identify an important effect of racist humour. Zygmunt Bauman's ideas on the problem of ambivalence for dichotomous discourse and category formation are employed to argue that racist humour expresses racist dichotomies and has the potential, among others, to “hide” the ambivalence to which such dichotomies are prone. The article then considers the meaning and ambivalence of less severe racist joking.