Discourses of leadership in the 2015–2023 Poland
From conflict and crisis, to a “smiling state
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 6421743 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Piotr Cap (0000-0002-7685-4112, University of Lodz, corresponding author) |
| Year | 2024 |
| Volume | 36 |
| Issue | 4 |
| Pages | 453-473 |
| Publication date | 2024-08-12 |
| Peer Reviewed | Yes |
| Open Access | Yes |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Discourse & Society (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 0957-9265 • E-ISSN: 1460-3624 |
| Publisher | SAGE Publishing (PUBLISHER • US) |
| DOI | 10.1177/09579265241271490 |
| OpenAlex | W4401550677 |
| Language | EN |
| Citations received | 1 |
| References cited | 24 |
The present paper employs conceptual tools of critical cognitive discourse studies (discourse space research, metaphor analysis, proximization) to explore patterns of legitimization discourse used by top Polish political parties to claim state leadership in the years 2015–2023. The first part studies the discourse of Law & Justice, a far-right conservative party ruling Poland from October 2015 to October 2023. It describes L&J’s strategies of leadership legitimization involving socio-ideological polarization, strategic generation of internal as well as external conflict, threat construction and crisis management. The second part analyzes the more moderate and cooperation oriented discourse strategies implemented by three opposition parties in the lead-up to the 2023 parliamentary elections, in which L&J finally lost power. The aim of the paper is to compare and contrast the two discourses, L&J’s and the opposition’s, to speculate about the longevity of radical populist discourses such as L&J’s. It is argued that a conflict-charged, polarized populist discourse can be an extremely powerful tool, able to grant longterm political leadership. At the same time, in a yet longer perspective, such a discourse runs a considerable risk of “wearing out” and becoming vulnerable to more forward-looking and pragmatic leadership rhetoric, which presages political change
Conceptual metaphor · Critical discourse analysis · Discourse analysis · Ideology · Linguistics · Metaphor · Opposition (politics · Political economy · Political science · Politics · Rhetoric · Sociology · Discourse Analysis and Cultural Communication · Language, Metaphor, and Cognition · Law · Sociopolitical Dynamics in Russia
Analysing Political Discourse
Proximization
Critical Discourse Analysis and Cognitive Science
Rhetorical Structure Theory
Cultural Backlash
The Body in the Mind
The Routledge Handbook of Language and Politics
Projecting the Future through Political Discourse
Political Metaphor Analysis
The logic of social exchange
Ideology
The Discourse of Propaganda
Preempting the future
Who is a ‘true refugee’? Polish political discourse in 2021-2022
Researching political metaphor cross-culturally
| Unique citing works | 1 |
|---|---|
| Citations per year | 1 |
| Citation span | 2026 - 2026 (1) |
| Citation velocity | current |
| Highly cited | No |
| Citation types | Neutral: 1 |