political discourse

Digitalization and the emergence of the Internet have resulted in escalating access to information and communication. Given the circumstances that soaring access to information amounts to the intensification of misinformation and disinformation, a set of critical skills to navigate and critically assess the information is necessary. This paper outlines the significance of these skills, and provides a perspective on metaliteracy as a supplement to media and information literacy, and argues that the ability to conceptualize, access, comprehend, analyze, and use information is crucial in achieving inclusive, pluralistic, and participatory knowledge societies.

SUBJECT AND OBJECTIVES : Iran's 1979 Islamic Revolution, led by the Imam Khomeini, kicked off a new era in interaction between the clergy and the government; an interaction which has taken shape and been institutionalized at different levels of regulation, legislation and execution, and for sure within the framework of the views of the Leader of the Islamic Revolution and adopted laws. The Imam Khomeini's views about government-clergy interaction bears significance from two aspects; First and foremost, he was instrumental in the emergence of the Islamic Revolution and the ensuing establishment of the Islamic Republic, and also the stabilization of the role of leadership; Second, the criteria he has defined about clergy-government interaction could be an acceptable index for the assessment of their status quo. METHOD AND FINDING : The methodology of this article originally pursues an approach based on text analysis and hermeneutics although historical analysis is incorporated. For this reason, this article seeks to know the model of clergy-government interaction which is sketched out based on the Imam Khomeini's standpoint and specifically his 22-volume Sahifeh. The research hypothesis is that the model of clergy-government interaction preached by the Imam Khomeini relies on religious beliefs and the structure of an Islamic society with a view to monitoring the government and guiding people and making the life for its nation (Ommat) meaningful. CONCLUSION : The results of the research showed that this article highlights the Shia ideology before discussing the standing of the supreme authority on religious matters (Marja'), Shia political discourse and the process of its formation throughout different periods, as well as the new potentialities of the Islamic Revolution like institution of supreme clerical rule (Velayat-e Faqih) and religious democracy which is an influential factor in the formation and development of the Shia political discourse.

Political poetry underwent considerable changes in both the format and the theme after the onset of the constitutionalism movement. While poetry and being a poet were commodities belonging to the educated persons until before constitutionalism. They made a lot of efforts in this period to get close to the language of the alleys and streets. In this era, political poetry seeks to express the people’s concerns and it becomes sublime with poets becoming the people’s tongue against superstition and despotism. Both prose and poetry experience subtle changes in this period. To be more exact, the constitutionalism’s literature is formed and enlivened in the course of the battle with the old literature and, due to the same reason, it is novel and it violates the tradition in terms of both form and content. The constitutionalist thinkers insist on pulling words out of the magnificent aristocratic palaces and making them serve the people of alleys and bazars. The goals of the poems in this period are awakening the people and inciting the national and patriotic feelings and promoting the individual and social freedoms and denial of the superstitions and loose and improper thoughts, fighting with the foreigners and westernism, harshly and mercilessly criticizing the disorders and familiarizing the people with their human limits and rights. It was with the constitutionalism’s revolution that the newspapers along with the preaching, discussion and lecture sessions became the primary medium for the conversations and expressing of the revolutionary notions and opinions, and a “public arena” that had been never seen before came about. More importantly, insolence, insult, and frivolity lost their private, fanciful, and exceptional aspects and became completely political and one of the most important and most effective means of the political fight. Such a thing was unprecedented in the political and literary history of the country. Two essential dimensions are seen in the constitutionalism’s literature: one is the criticizing of the past literature and the other is the positing of a novel literature. Zain Al-Abedin Maraghe’ei has the following words in this regard: “these days are not the time in which the masters of pen and thoughts spend their time on simple things, chimerical myths and senseless nonsense like their antecedents for nothing but fiction would result thereof. The present article tries introducing the prominent political figures of the constitutionalism era

The reconstruction of religious thought is considered one of the essential components of the politico-religious discourse in contemporary Iran towards the revival of religious thought and making religion more efficient. This reconstruction has involved such goals as universality of religious thought towards playing a superior socio-political role, adapting it to the temporal requirements and benefitting from religious potentials towards resisting against domestic despotism and foreign domination. The historical background of this process and understanding its Islamist discourse involve the hard task of identification and evaluation in a world in which we not only witness the opposition of religious and antireligious thought, but we see that the religious thought itself has undergone extensive developments and interpretations. The wide range of this reconstruction among the Shiite scholars of Iran is a turning point in intellectual and practical developments in the history of contemporary Iran. Explaining this issue and its impact on the Shiite political discourse in contemporary Iran, this article seeks to elaborate on religious reconstruction from the perspective of Ayatuulah Murtaza Mutahhari.

This study takes a critical look at the purposive manipulation of discourse and rhetoric by the former Iranian President — Hassan Rouhani — when announcing the lockdown of holy sites during the COVID-19 crisis. A discourse analysis with a qualitative design was applied to study the political dimension of the discourse. This study is framed within the domain of systemic functional linguistics mood systems and the classical Aristotelian rhetoric trio — logos, ethos, and pathos. The results revealed that Rouhani mainly used the declarative mood in his speeches which performed three main functions: statements of opinion, statements of fact, and indirect directives. From a rhetorical perspective, Rouhani applied ethos considerably more than pathos and logos as a way to increase the credibility of his words while persuading the audience. Moreover, the researchers noticed that the former president employed multiple strategies to build pathos and ethos with the audience. These findings can suggest and encourage novel future research directions.  

This research explored the intricacies of incitement as a speech act in political discourse, particularly in the context of the ongoing Russia-Ukraine conflict. Utilizing a mixed-methods design, the study combined qualitative analyses—focusing on rhetorical structures and pragmatic strategies—with quantitative evaluations of speech act frequencies. The corpus included speeches from prominent political figures delivered between February 2022 and March 2024, selected for their relevance to incitement. The analysis revealed that incitement often straddles the boundary between illocutionary and perlocutionary acts, showcasing how politicians use indirect language to maintain plausible deniability while still mobilizing action. This ambiguity complicates traditional classifications within speech act theory. Furthermore, the study highlights various persuasive strategies employed in political rhetoric, such as emotional appeals and historical analogies.The implications of this research are significant for understanding how language functions as a tool of political power, particularly in conflict situations. It provides insights into ethical considerations surrounding incitement in political communication, suggesting that awareness of linguistic strategies can help prevent escalation of tensions and promote more responsible discourse among leaders.

This study provides a comparative analysis of the rhetorical, pragmatic, and semantic strategies used by English-speaking and Arabic-speaking politicians to manipulate their audiences. By examining political speeches from both linguistic contexts, the research reveals distinct cultural patterns in manipulation. English-speaking politicians often employ direct, fact-based appeals (logos), while Arabic-speaking politicians rely more on emotional and collective identity appeals (pathos). These strategies reflect the cultural and linguistic norms of each group. Additionally, the study highlights the evolving impact of digital media on political communication, showing how manipulative strategies have adapted to new technological platforms. The findings have important implications for political communication strategists, media professionals, and educators. They underscore the need for culturally nuanced communication strategies in cross-cultural political discourse, offer insights for enhancing public media literacy to combat manipulation, and provide a framework for further research into the role of digital platforms in shaping political rhetoric. Additionally, the study highlights the evolving impact of digital media on political communication, showing how manipulative strategies have adapted to new technological platforms. The findings have important implications for political communication strategists, media professionals, and educators. They underscore the need for culturally nuanced communication strategies in cross-cultural political discourse, offer insights for enhancing public media literacy to combat manipulation, and provide a framework for further research into the role of digital platforms in shaping political rhetoric.

This article performs a CDA on White House press briefings and is especial in its focus on how gendered language impacts relations of power. Adopting a mixed-method approach, this study will examine linguistic strategies and deictic expressions used by male and female spokespersons articulating ideologies and constructing authority. The latter is based on Fairclough's three-dimensional CDA model, whereby text analysis is involved, together with discourse practices and social context in explaining how language reflects and constructs political realities. The research questions were as follows: (1) How are deictic expressions used by spokesmen and spokeswomen in the White House press briefings? (2) What is the inter-relationship between power and language through the usage of modal verbs, and is there a gender-based difference herein? (3) How do women spokespersons, through language, claim ideologies and power? It is a contribution to applied linguistics and presents evidence of subtle linguistic mechanisms that shape public perception of gendered language in political discourse. The research questions were as follows: (1) How are deictic expressions used by spokesmen and spokeswomen in the White House press briefings? (2) What is the inter-relationship between power and language through the usage of modal verbs, and is there a gender-based difference herein? (3) How do women spokespersons, through language, claim ideologies and power? It is a contribution to applied linguistics and presents evidence of subtle linguistic mechanisms that shape public perception of gendered language in political discourse.