The Rift Within An Imagined Community: Understanding Nationalism(s) in Bangladesh

2006 ◽  
Vol 34 (2) ◽  
pp. 324-339 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mahmud Hasan Khan ◽  
Ishtiaq Hossain
Keyword(s):  
National Identity ◽  
Major Change ◽  
Political Rhetoric ◽  
Military Coup ◽  
The Political ◽  
Discursive Construction ◽  
Military Government ◽  
Politics Of Identity ◽  
Political Ideologies ◽  
The People

AbstractThe continuing debate in Bangladesh over the national identity of its people — whether one is a Bangali or Bangladeshi — is a post-1975 phenomenon. One of the main themes of the independence war (1971) was 'Bangali nationalism'. However, it was replaced with 'Bangladeshi nationalism' by a military government following a bloody military coup in 1975. This major change in the label of the national identity of the people of Bangladesh requires explanation. A sharp distinction in the nature of politics in Bangladesh between the pre- and post-1975 era offers an explanation of the politics of identity in Bangladesh. This study shows that the manifestations of these political identities have been represented discursively, according to the political ideologies adopted by the successive regimes in Bangladesh. This paper studies the material representations of national identity, specifically the discursive construction of national identity in Bangladesh. It investigates also whether national identity discourse is a creation of the political rhetoric during different eras or it is "over-determined" in Althusserian terms. In other words, this paper questions the ontological basis of national identity in Bangladesh.

On the Will of the People: Notes on the Political “Theory” of Populism

2020 ◽  
Vol 1 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Claus Offe
Keyword(s):  
Ethnic Identity ◽  
Political Theory ◽  
Conflicts Of Interest ◽  
Political Rhetoric ◽  
The Political ◽  
The People ◽  
National People ◽  
The Will

The “will of the (national) people” is the ubiquitously invoked reference unit of populist politics. The essay tries to demystify the notion that such will can be conceived of as a unique and unified substance deriving from collective ethnic identity. Arguably, all political theory is concerned with arguing for ways by which citizens can make e pluribus unum—for example, by coming to agree on procedures and institutions by which conflicts of interest and ideas can be settled according to standards of fairness. It is argued that populists in their political rhetoric and practice typically try to circumvent the burden of such argument and proof. Instead, they appeal to the notion of some preexisting existential unity of the people’s will, which they can redeem only through practices of repression and exclusion.

“Clean and green — That’s the way we like it”

2004 ◽  
Vol 3 (3) ◽  
pp. 485-505 ◽  
Author(s):  
Peter Teo
Keyword(s):  
National Identity ◽  
Physical Space ◽  
Educational Discourse ◽  
Scarce Resources ◽  
Discursive Strategies ◽  
Political Ideologies ◽  
The People ◽  
National Campaigns ◽  
The Government ◽  
Management And Conservation

This paper focuses on the discursive strategies used by the Singapore government to construct national identity and solidarity on the basis of a ‘clean and green’ environment. By analysing the slogans used in the Clean and Green Week campaign in terms of the use of pronouns and the pragmatic notion of ‘politeness’, the paper shows that the people of Singapore are not only persuaded to ‘buy’ the idea of environmentalism, but also to buy into the ideology of national identity and unity being derived (in part) from the proper management and conservation of Singapore’s scarce resources and limited physical space. The paper concludes with a discussion on how national campaigns such as the Clean and Green Week constitutes a form of political discourse, where public educational discourse becomes a veiled medium through which socio-political ideologies are produced and propagated. With the government treading the fine line between information and manipulation where ‘greening’ a country becomes a scaffolding for building a nation, a study like this offers interesting insights into the interplay between the language of politics and the politics of language.

scholarly journals Come Fly With Me: Analyzing The F-35 Aircraft Acquisition Discourse to Study Incivility in Question Period

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Arun Jacob
Keyword(s):  
Public Sphere ◽  
Political Discourse ◽  
Public Discourse ◽  
Political Rhetoric ◽  
The Political ◽  
Political Accountability ◽  
The People ◽  
Canadian Politics ◽  
The Government

The main objective behind the parliamentary practice of Question Period is to ensure that the government is held accountable to the people. Rather than being a political accountability tool and a showcase of public discourse, these deliberations are most often displays of vitriolic political rhetoric. I will be focusing my research on the ways in which incivil political discourse permeates the political mediascape with respect to one instance in Canadian politics - the acquisition of the F-35 Lightning II Joint Strike Fighter. I believe that incivility in the political discourse of Question Period must be understood within the mechanics of the contemporary public sphere. By interrogating the complexities of how political discourse is being mediatized, produced and consumed within the prevailing ideological paradigms, I identify some of the contemporary social, cultural and political practices that produce incivility in parliamentary discourse.

‘Rebellious Slaves’ and ‘Great Citizen’

2014 ◽  
Vol 7 (1) ◽  
pp. 1-51
Author(s):  
Boris Ivanovich Kolonitskii
Keyword(s):  
Political Culture ◽  
Political Rhetoric ◽  
The Political ◽  
Coalition Government ◽  
Political Arena ◽  
The People ◽  
Personality Cult ◽  
The Press

The article treats one of A. F. Kerenskii’s most important speeches, the speech of 29 April 1917, known to historians for its reference to ‘rebellious slaves.’ It examines the speech’s political significance by reconstructing its reception and political currency and by analyzing its effect on the revolution’s political culture. The article compares variants of the speech as reported in the political press, resolutions and collective letters printed in the press, and also Kerenskii’s personal documents bearing on the speech. The article demonstrates that Kerenskii’s speech was a part of his tactical effort to create a coalition government on conditions favorable to him. The speech had a major impact on the political rhetoric of the revolutionary epoch, with various participants in the political arena manipulating Kerenskii’s reference to ‘rebellious slaves’ for their own purposes. The address contributed to the formation of a personality cult, built on Kerenskii’s image as ‘leader of the people.’

The Racialization of the Muslim Body and Space in Hollywood

2019 ◽  
Vol 6 (3) ◽  
pp. 382-395
Author(s):  
Maheen Haider
Keyword(s):  
War On Terror ◽  
Physical Space ◽  
Political Rhetoric ◽  
The Political ◽  
Gendered Identity ◽  
Political Processes ◽  
Political Ideologies ◽  
Hollywood Films ◽  
Systemic Process ◽  
Muslim Identities

Using 11 high-grossing post-9/11 Hollywood films on terrorism and the Middle East, the author analyzes how films racialize Muslim identities in service to Islamophobia. This research brings together racialization theory with analysis of political ideologies that illustrate visualized racialized meanings on Muslim identities. The racialized portrayals of Muslim bodies inscribed in the political rhetoric of the War on Terror follow a systemic process of ethnoracial cultural othering that objectifies, vilifies, and dehumanizes Muslim identities. The author demonstrates how films engage in the political processes of racial construction of Muslim identities by criminalizing their gendered identity, dehumanizing their body, and devaluing their territorial and physical space in the context of the War on Terror.

Potholes in the Democratic Road, 1936–1958

Iraq ◽  
2013 ◽  
Author(s):  
Adeed Dawisha
Keyword(s):  
Political Parties ◽  
Political Power ◽  
Military Coup ◽  
The Political ◽  
Military Government ◽  
Martial Law ◽  
Army Officers ◽  
The Military ◽  
Political Scene ◽  
Ideas And Institutions

This chapter analyzes political developments in Iraq from 1936 to 1958. Any growth of democratic ideas and institutions that had been achieved earlier came to an abrupt halt in 1936 following the military coup. Army officers, custodians of political power between 1936 and 1941, cared little, if at all, about democratic institutions and practices. They were succeeded by civilian governments, openly abetted by the Palace, which systematically interfered in the workings of the country's supposed representative institutions. Political parties and groupings operating within the straitjacket of military government and martial law had all but disappeared from the political scene. And successive governments made certain to emasculate Parliament of even the flimsiest pretense of independence and impartiality.

The Legacies of Patrimonial Patriarchalism

2011 ◽  
Vol 636 (1) ◽  
pp. 69-87 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gwynn Thomas
Keyword(s):  
Political Legitimacy ◽  
Political Rhetoric ◽  
Military Coup ◽  
The Political ◽  
Political Leaders ◽  
Salvador Allende ◽  
Ideological Influence ◽  
The Military ◽  
The Relationship ◽  
Familial Roles

In Chile, how citizens and political leaders have understood, incorporated, and contested the relationship between the familial and the political has been central to the development of their society. The author examines the ideological influence that familial beliefs had on the process of delegitimizing the presidency of Salvador Allende and legitimizing the military coup through an analysis of political rhetoric surrounding the mobilization of women in the March of the Empty Pots and Pans. The author argues that the march was a pivotal moment in which generalized beliefs about the state’s responsibility for familial welfare, including protecting men’s and women’s familial roles, were transformed into a powerful critique against Allende and his government. The author shows how the arguments put forward by Allende’s opponents drew on embedded beliefs about the relationship between families and politics to frame the emerging debate about the political legitimacy of President Allende.

Rhetorical strategies and identity politics in the discourse of colonial withdrawal

2002 ◽  
Vol 1 (1) ◽  
pp. 149-180 ◽  
Author(s):  
John Flowerdew
Keyword(s):  
Identity Politics ◽  
Political Rhetoric ◽  
Political Agenda ◽  
The Political ◽  
Discursive Construction ◽  
Rhetorical Strategies ◽  
Political Leaders ◽  
British Colonial ◽  
Rhetorical Tropes ◽  
Political Oratory

Skilful use of the rhetorical tropes which typify the language of serious political occasions — described here as “rhetorical weight” — is closely associated with charismatic political leaders. This paper studies the political rhetoric of a skilled exponent of the art, Chris Patten, the last British colonial governor of Hong Kong, and shows how he used rhetorical weight to promote his political agenda. Detailed analysis of four segments of Patten’s political oratory, spread over the period of his five-year term of office, highlights his heavy use of the tropes of metaphor, antithesis, parallelism, actualisation, and the unities of time, place and action. The paper demonstrates how the use of these tropes related to Patten’s overall political goals and their manipulative nature within the context of his discursive construction of Britain’s imperial/national history and identity.

scholarly journals Oleg Serebrian, Politica și identitatea națională ieri și azi / Politics and National Identity Yesterday and Today

2015 ◽  
Vol 3 (2) ◽  
pp. 148-161
Keyword(s):  
National Identity ◽  
Social Science ◽  
French Revolution ◽  
Medieval Period ◽  
American School ◽  
Political Ideologies ◽  
Modern Age ◽  
The People ◽  
The Common ◽  
The Republic

The author discusses how the concept of “national identity” has been defined and expressed throughout different ages, peoples and schools of thought. The relation between religious, class-based, or national identity and political ideologies is being carefully observed, starting from the medieval period into the modern age, not only in Europe, but also in the East. What happens with national identity? Is it, based on old social science schools, inherited or acquired? Here appears one of the initial distinctions between two opposing concepts of the national identity: the German understanding, originating from J. Fichte and the German romantics, according to which a nation is linked by a common origin, the common identity of the people, history and language (Volksgeist) versus the Franco-American school, which originated in the French revolution, stating that a nation is built not on common history, but is rather a societal outcome, being based on politics, adherence to the values of the Republic and loyalty to the state. In the contemporary period the French concept has been predominant and was taken over by the American school of thought.

scholarly journals Editorial

2018 ◽  
Vol 13 (1) ◽  
pp. v-ix
Author(s):  
Jani Marjanen
Keyword(s):  
Political Rhetoric ◽  
The Political ◽  
Special Issue ◽  
Political Ideologies ◽  
History Of ◽  
History Of Concepts ◽  
Historical Discourses

This issue brings together five articles that deal with particular concepts in given historical discourses and are thus seemingly unrelated, but they are brought together because of their focus on words carrying the suffix -ism. The following issue will include two more articles that relate to the theme. The articles were chosen based on an open call for papers that was circulated widely. In parallel to this issue, a special issue on the political rhetoric of isms is also being published in the Journal of Political Ideologies. The review and publication processes have been conducted separately in the two journals, but in the end the two issues are being published nearly simultaneously, which will hopefully benefit both Contributions to the History of Concepts and the Journal of Political Ideologies.

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