Political Debasement : Incivility, Contempt, and Humiliation in Parliamentary and Public Discourse

This edited book is an innovative collection of studies―pioneering scholarship systematically exploring the various features of debasement language used by political leaders in their speeches, statements, and remarks during parliamentary and other official as well as unofficial, private activities. The book examines in particular the forms, functions, and effects of political debasement in Western and non-Western countries, including Spain, Malaysia, the UK, Japan, China, India, Montenegro, Greece, Poland, and Israel. It addresses the growing interest in recent years in issues related to the increase of debasement in the public sphere. These include high-echelon politicians’ invective and vulgarity toward their colleagues in houses of parliament; their abusive and cynical language toward sections of the public, including women and minorities; and their crude sarcasm and irony expressed toward media representatives. The book focuses on those instances where political leaders at the very highest-level employ debasement discourse; it identifies the specific language they use in different political cultures and under different situations ; the reasons for using this type of language ; and its consequences. The book brings together a team of distinguished political scientists, communication and linguistics researchers, and social and political psychologists, with expert backgrounds and experience in understanding the reciprocal interaction between language and politics, in this case: debasement. They discuss and provide a number of novel insights of theoretical and practical importance regarding debasing discourse, as well as potential avenues for future research on the nature and effect of this type of language. Preface 7 Contents 10 Contributors 12 1 Assessing the Politics of Debasement: From Impoliteness to Demonization in Political Communication 14 1.1 Introduction 14 1.2 Debasement and Political Debasement 16 1.3 Debasement and Incivility 17 1.4 Assessing Political Debasement 21 1.4.1 Narrow Sense Debasement 21 1.4.2 Broad Sense Debasement 21 1.5 Modes of Interaction Between Debaser(s) and Their Target(s) 26 1.6 Model: Elements and Research Questions in Political Debasement 29 1.6.1 The Debasers 29 1.6.2 The Target 29 1.6.3 The Type of Debasement Language That Is Used 30 1.6.4 The Setting in Which Debasement Takes Place 30 1.6.5 The Manner in Which Debasement Expression Is Presented 30 1.6.6 The Motives Behind Expression of Debasement 31 1.6.7 The Effect or Potential Effect of Debasement Language 31 1.6.8 The Political and Socio-Cultural Environment Context 32 1.7 Overview of the Volume 32 References 37 Part I Incivility in Deliberative Bodies 42 2 Adversarial Attacks in Spanish Politics: Direct and Indirect Forms 43 2.1 Introduction 43 2.2 Survey of the Literature 44 2.3 The Spanish Political Context 47 2.4 Methodology and Corpus 48 2.5 Analysis and Discussion 49 2.5.1 Direct Forms 49 2.5.2 Indirect Forms 55 2.6 Conclusion 60 References 61 3 Of Toddy, Tongsan, and Bigfoot from Kinabatangan: The Use of Impolite Language in the Malaysian Parliament 64 3.1 Introduction 64 3.1.1 The System 65 3.1.2 Terlajak Perahu Boleh Diundur, Terlajak Kata Buruk Padahnya 66 3.1.3 The Political Scene 68 3.2 Methodology 70 3.3 Case Study: The Use of Debasing Language in the Malaysian Parliament 71 3.4 Conclusions 75 References 77 4 Incivility from the UK Prime Minister’s Dispatch Box: A Comparative Study of PM Question Time Attacks, 2010–2020 80 4.1 Introduction 80 4.2 Political Incivility in British Politics 83 4.2.1 Case: Questions to the Prime Minister (PMQs) 84 4.3 Data Collection and Method of Analysis 85 4.4 Results 89 4.5 Conclusions 95 References 97 Part II Disparaging Officeholders, Aspiring Politicians, and Members of the Public 102 5 Challenging Etiquette: Insults, Sarcasm, and Irony in Japanese Politicians’ Discourse 103 5.1 Introduction 103 5.2 Communication Etiquette in Japanese Society and Politics 104 5.3 Insults, Ridicule and Belittling Expressions in Politicians’ Discourse 107 5.3.1 Misogynistic, Insulting and Humiliating Comments Towards Women 107 5.3.2 Discriminatory Statement on Gender Equality and LGBT Rights 110 5.3.3 Other Comments on Individuals and Groups within Japanese Society 112 5.4 Discussion 118 5.5 Conclusions 122 References 123 6 Consistency and Change: Derogatory Language in Chinese Leaders’ Speeches 127 6.1 Introduction 127 6.2 Debasement Language: The Revolutionary Era 128 6.3 Removing the Intellectuals’ “Bourgeois Hat” and Vigilance Against Bourgeois Liberalizers 131 6.4 Continuous Debasement Against the Corrupt 135 6.5 Discussion and Conclusion 137 References 141 7 Rahul Gandhi as “Prince” and Pappu: The Hindu Right's Politics of Ridicule 143 7.1 Introduction 143 7.2 Theoretical Overview 145 7.3 Method 147 7.4 The Making of Pappu and Shehzada 148 7.5 Discussion and Conclusion 153 References 155 8 Use of Labels and Attributes for Degrading Opponents in Montenegro’s Political Discourse 158 8.1 Introduction 158 8.2 The Montenegrin Political Context 159 8.3 Theoretical Background and Previous Research 160 8.3.1 Other-Delegitimization and Lexicalization 160 8.3.2 Debasement in Political Discourse 161 8.3.3 Previous Related Research 162 8.4 Corpus and Analytical Steps 163 8.5 Analysis 164 8.5.1 Targets of the Debasing Labels and Attributes 164 8.5.2 Semantic Classification of Debasing Labels and Attributes 166 8.6 Discussion and Conclusion 174 References 175 Part III Humiliating, Ridiculing, and Degrading Power Holders 179 9 Greek Political Discourse, 2019–2022: Instrumentalizing Impoliteness and Aggression 180 9.1 Introduction 180 9.2 The Overall Context: Greek Politics 2008–2022 183 9.3 Analysis 183 9.4 Conclusion 194 References 195 10 Incivility in the Language of the Powerful: Derisive and Debasing Discourse in Polish Politics 197 10.1 Introduction 197 10.2 The Rise of Populist Incivility in Polish Politics 199 10.3 Debasement as Taboo-Breaking Through Offensive Language: Method and Data 202 10.4 Analysis 203 10.4.1 Debasement in a Parliamentary Debate 203 10.4.2 Mediated Materials 206 10.4.3 Social Media 209 10.5 Conclusion 211 References 212 11 The Israeli National Camp’s Political Rhetoric of Debasement as a New Nationalist Populist (NNP) Tool 215 11.1 Introduction 215 11.2 Between Debasement and NNP 216 11.3 Debasement in the Zionist and Israeli Political Landscape 217 11.4 The National Camp and Its Debasing Rhetoric 218 11.4.1 Strong and Greater Israel 219 11.4.2 An Illiberal Israeli Democracy 222 11.4.3 Humiliating Rivals 225 11.5 Discussion and Conclusion 227 References 229 Part IV Conclusions 234 12 The Linguistic and Cultural Ambiguities of Parliamentary Political Invective 235 12.1 Introduction 235 12.2 The Research Problematics of Debasing Invective 236 12.3 An Intensity Scale of Invective 237 12.3.1 A Typology of (Political) Invective 238 12.4 Factors Determining the Harshness of Political Invective 239 12.4.1 Invective Chronology: Semantic Change Over Time 240 12.4.2 Invective Comprehension: Dissimilar Audiences 241 12.4.3 Invective Context: Different Impact 241 12.4.4 Invective Extent: Localized or Across-the-Board 242 12.4.5 Invective Medium 243 12.4.6 Non-Verbal Attack 243 12.4.7 Invective Ambiguity 245 12.5 Comparative Studies 245 12.6 (Tentative) Conclusions 247 References 248 Index 250