"It is never easy to write or edit a book that aims, like Ofer Feldman's volume, to provide a panoramic account of phenomena that fall under the rubric of political communication. ... Ofer Feldman's volume is a fine attempt to account for the interface of culture, discourse and politics ... . the book possesses a broad appeal, both critical and theoretical, and is bound to attract attention from an interdisciplinary spectrum of early-career as well as experienced scholars." (Piotr Cap, Language and Dialogue, Vol. 12 (3), 2022)
Introduction: The Role of Culture in Shaping Political Leaders’ Rhetoric
Part 1. Religion and Political Rhetoric
Chapter 1 A Long Shadow: The Influence of Jewish Culture on Israeli Political Speech
Sam Lehman-Wilzig (Bar-Ilan University, Israel)
Chapter 2 The Influence of Islamic Culture and Quranic Rhetoric on Public Speaking in the Arab World
Ali Badeen Mohammed Al-Rikaby (Mustansiriyah University, Baghdad, Iraq)
Chapter 9 Core Socio-Cultural Building Blocks influencing the Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s Speeches to the UN General Assembly over the Previous Decade
Yuval Benziman (Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Israel)
Part 3. ‘Common-Sense’ and Macho Norms and Political Rhetoric
Chapter 10 Selling Sainthood: Commonsense, Prime Minister Narendra Modi, and the Politics of Legitimacy in India
Amit Julka (National University of Singapore, Singapore)
Chapter 11 President Donald Trump and the New American Cultural Divide
Michael Krasner (City University of New York, USA)
Chapter 12 President Rodrigo Duterte’s Brutish Rhetoric and the Culture of Machismo in the Philippines
Gene Segarra Navera (National University of Singapore, Singapore)
Part 4. Majority/Minority Relations, Economic System, Immigration patterns, and Geography Isolation and Political Rhetoric
Chapter 13 From “Guests” to “Imposters:” An Analysis of the Impact of culture on Turkish Political Discourse(s) over Migration
Ibrahim EFE (Kilis 7 Aralık University, Turkey)
Chapter 14 Rhetoric, Ideology, and the Influence of Culture in the Spanish Parliamentary Debates: A Case Study of Pablo Iglesias of the Podemos Party
Francisco Jose Sanchez Garcia (Universidad de Granada, Spain)
Chapter 15 “This Stardust Won’t Settle:” An Analysis of Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern’s Political Rhetoric in Aotearoa New Zealand
Claire Timperley (Victoria University of Wellington, New Zealand)
Part 5. Collectivism, Social Structure and Relationships and Political Rhetoric
Chapter 16 Decoding Political Leaders’ Rhetoric in Japan
Ofer Feldman (Doshisha University, Japan)
Chapter 17 Culture and Politics in Contemporary China: A Cultural-Specific Analysis of Three President Xi Jinping’s Speeches in 2019
Lu Xing (DePaul University, USA)
Chapter 18 Conclusion: How Culture Shapes Political Discourse
Richard Anderson (University of California, USA)
Ofer Feldman is a professor of Political Psychology and Behavior at the Faculty of Policy Studies, Doshisha University, Kyoto, Japan. He is the author of more than 90 journal articles and book chapters, and more than 100 encyclopedia items, in the fields of political psychology/behavior, communication studies, and Japanese politics, and the sole author, co-author, sole editor, and co-editor of 16 books and monographs, including Talking Politics in Japan Today (2004), Seiji shinrigaku [Political Psychology] (in Japanese, 2006), The Psychology of Political Communicators (2019, with Sonja Zmerli), and The Rhetoric of Political Leadership (2020).
This book details the relationship between culture and the language used by public figures, including politicians, political candidates, and government officials, in the broad context of political behavior and communication. Employing a variety of perspectives, theoretical, conceptual, methodological, and analytical approaches, chapters focus specifically on the question of HOW cultural factors (such as religion, history, economy, majority/minority relations, social structure, and values) shape the content, nature, and characteristics of the rhetoric that public figures utilize in selected countries in the Americas, Europe, Asia, Oceania, and the Middle East.
The chapters enable comparison of the cultural effects on the different structures, styles, and contents of public speaking in societies from West to East. That is, of WHAT leaders say, HOW they say it (e.g., degree of openness, directness, usage of metaphors and slogans, xenophobic and racial expressions), under WHICH specific circumstances (e.g., National Days addresses, national or local assemblies’ debates, during election campaigns appeals, press conferences’ briefings, and in international meetings’ speeches), and for WHAT specific audiences (e.g., supporters and voters, media representatives, or the global community).