ELEMENTS OF POPULISM IN BORIS JOHNSON'S POLITICAL COMMUNICATION ON BREXIT

Paula Čatipović

DOI Number
https://doi.org/10.22190/FUPSPH2302091C
First page
091
Last page
105

Abstract


This paper explores Boris Johnson's political communication style by analyzing his use of language and its populistic elements. The aim is to shed light on his linguistic construction of reality by examining the statements he made in a Brexit-related context. Therefore, qualitative discourse analysis was chosen as the most suitable method and 100 statements were generated by the Google search engine from multifarious sources. This included the systematization of several categories of used rhetorical figures, phrases, slogans, and word types. The paper discovered specific patterns in named language categories depending on which elements of populistic communication Johnson is practicing. For example, this is reflected in rhetorical questions when he is talking about “dangerous others”, the repetition of words such as “fantastic” and “great” and associating them with nouns like “country” and “people” in the sense of national unity, or an evident “us-them” division displayed while referring to Britain’s uncertain future.


Keywords

Boris Johnson, Brexit, political communication, populism, language analysis

Full Text:

PDF

References


Al Jazeera. “Transcript: Boris Johnson’s election victory speech in full”. (2019, December, 13). https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2019/12/13/transcript-boris-johnsons-election-victory-speech-in-full.

Alexandre-Collier, Agnès. “David Cameron, Boris Johnson and the 'Populist Hypothesis' in the British Conservative Party”. Comparative European Politics 20, 5 (2022): 527–543. doi: https://doi.org/10.1057/s41295-022-00294-5

AP Archive – video archive of The Associated Press. “Johnson urges Britain ‘to take back control’” [Video]. YouTube. (2016, May 17). https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EUFLMu0-H1k&ab_channel=APArchive

Bagić, Krešimir. Rječnik stilskih figura. Zagreb: Školska knjiga, 2012.

Banks, Martin. “’The price of populism': UK MEPs react to Boris Johnson election victory'”. The Parliament (2019, December 13). https://www.theparliamentmagazine.eu/news/article/the-price-of-populism-uk-meps-react-to-boris-johnson-election-victory

BBC News. “Boris Johnson: First speech as PM in full”. (2019, July 24). https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-politics-49102495

Canovan, Margaret. “Trust the People! Populism and the Two Faces of Democracy”. Political Studies 47, 1 (1999): 2–16. doi: https://doi.org/10.1111/1467-9248.00184

Conservatives. “Boris Johnson's hilarious election advert | 12 Questions to Boris Johnson.” [Video]. YouTube. (2019, November 12). https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=97zPDojMWiQ&ab_channel=Conservatives

Conservativesa. “Boris Johnson's Brexit Address to the Nation | This is not an end, but a beginning”. [Video]. YouTube. (2020, January 31). https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hdYNcvchgY&t=213s&ab_channel=Conservatives

CNBC. “Boris Johnson says Europe on same path as Hitler’s Germany”. (2016, May 15). https://www.cnbc.com/2016/05/15/boris-johnson-says-europe-on-same-path-as-hitlers-germany.html

CNN. “Boris Johnson on Brexit: My job is to bring this country together”. [Video]. YouTube. (2020, January 31). https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vRIHA2WKqyw&ab_channel=CNN

De Vreese, Claes, H., Frank Esser, Toril Aalberg, Carsten Reinemann, & James Stanyer. „Populism as an Expression of Political Communication Content and Style: A New Perspective“. The International Journal of Press/Politics 23, 4 (2018): 423–438. https://doi- org.ezproxy.nsk.hr/10.1177/1940161218790035

Derakhshani, Mahdi, Shatha N. Qaiwer, Bahran Kazemian, & Shafigeh Mohammadian. „Critical discourse analysis and rhetorical tropes in Donald Trump’s first speech to the UN“. Theory and Practice in Language Studies 11, 10 (2021): 1224–1236. https: //doi.org/10.17507/tpls.1110.10

Dunmire, Patricia, L. „Preempting the future: rhetoric and ideology of the future in political discourse“. Discourse & Society 16, 4 (2005): 481–513. doi: https: //doi.org/10.1177/0957926505053052

Dunn, N. Tom, Matt Dathan, & Nick Gutteridge. “Boris Johnson urges Sun readers to back Conservatives in General Election to get Brexit done & unite Britain”. The Sun (2019, December, 11). https://www.thesun.co.uk/news/10533073/boris-johnson-sun-readers-brexit-done/

Eriksson, Rickard. (2022). “The Art of the Political Metaphor: Examining Boris Johnson’s use of conceptual metaphors in a speech on Brexit”. Master Thesis, Umeå University, Faculty of Arts, Department of language studies, 2022. http: //urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn: nbn: se: umu: diva-192688

Evans, Geoffrey, Roosmarijn de Geus, & Jane Green. “Boris Johnson to the Rescue? How the Conservatives Won the Radical-Right Vote in the 2019 General Election”. Political Studies 0, 0 (2021). doi: https://doi-org.ezproxy.nsk.hr/10.1177/00323217211051191

Global News. “Boris Johnson on Brexit: Why should MPs decide that they cancel the result of a referendum?” [Video]. YouTube. (2019, November 6). https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MvsIp8xxqY&ab_channel=GlobalNews

Grbeša, Marijana & Berto Šalaj. Dobar, loš ili zao? Populizam u Hrvatskoj. Zagreb: TIM Press, 2018.

Halmi, Aleksandar, Renata Belušić i Jelena Ogresta. „Socijalnokonstruktivistički pristup analizi medijskog diskursa“. Medijska istraživanja 10, 2 (2004): 35–50. https: //hrcak.srce.hr/23000

Henley, Jon. “Boris Johnson wins huge majority on promise to 'get Brexit done”. The Guardian (2019, December 13). https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2019/dec/13/bombastic-boris-johnson-wins-huge-majority-on-promise-to-get-brexit-done

Hereford Times. “John Bercow denies jungle rumours as he stands down as Speaker”. (2019, October 31). https://www.herefordtimes.com/news/national/18007006.john-bercow-denies-jungle-rumours-stands-speaker/

Hodges, Brian, D., Ayelet Kuper, & Scott Reeves. “Discourse analysis”. BMJ (Clinical research ed.) 337 (2008): 570–576. doi: https: //doi.org/10.1136/bmj.a879

ITV News. “Boris Johnson: Brexit would not cause World War Three in Europe”. (2016, May 9). https://www.itv.com/news/2016-05-09/boris-johnson-brexit-would-not-cause-ww3-in-europe

Jagers, Jan and Stefaan Walgrave. “Populism as political communication style: An empirical study of political parties' discourse in Belgium”. European Journal of Political Research 46 (2007): 319–345. doi: https: //doi-org.ezproxy.nsk.hr/10.1111/j.1475-6765.2006.00690.x

Lakoff, George and Mark Johnson. Metaphors we live by. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1980.

McNair, Brian. Uvod u političku komunikaciju. Zagreb: Fakultet političkih znanosti, 2003.

Mudde, Cas. Populist Radical Right Parties in Europe. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2007.

Nagel, Claudia. “On the psychodynamics of hope and identity in times of crisis: why they are needed when basic assumption victimism/supremacism prevail”. Organisational and Social Dynamics 21, 1 (2021): 56–77. doi: https://doi.org/10.33212/osd.v21n1.2021.56

Picheta, Rob. “Boris Johnson wins race to be Britain's next leader”. CNN. (2019, July 24).

https://edition.cnn.com/uk/live-news/boris-johnson-jeremy-hunt-tuesday-dle-gbr-intl/h_819ac08132aea098bad1bff67c4deda9

Reuters. “TEXT-New UK PM Johnson's arrival speech in Downing Street”. (2019, July 24). https://www.reuters.com/article/britain-eu-leader-idUSL8N24P6DK

Reutersa. “UK PM Johnson: All Conservative election candidates pledge to back my Brexit deal”. (2019, November 16). https://www.reuters.com/article/us-britain-election-johnson-idUSKBN1XQ0QU

Robertson, Cristopher. “Brexit, Populism, and Emotive Politics”. In The Palgrave Encyclopedia of Interest Groups, Lobbying and Public Affairs, edited by Harris et al. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham, 2021. doi : https: //doi-org.ezproxy.nsk.hr/10.1007/978-3-030-13895-0_20-2

Salih, Muhammad. S. & Maghdid, M. Braim. “A Textual Analysis of Hyperbole and Litotes in Selected English Political Speeches”. Journal of Al Anbar University for Language and Literature 16 (2014): 45–83.

SBS News. “Boris Johnson loses second attempt to force snap election”. (2019, September 9). https://www.sbs.com.au/news/article/boris-johnson-loses-second-attempt-to-force-snap-election/qhxycehyi

Scharp, Kristina, M., & Lindsey, J. Thomas. “Discourse Analysis”. In The International Encyclopedia of Communication Research Method, edited by Matthes, 1–9. John Wiley & Sons, Inc., 2017.

Sharkansky, Ira. “Slogan as Policy”. Journal of Comparative Policy Analysis 4, 1 (2002): 75–93. doi: https: //doi.org/10.1023/A: 1014975523148

Spruyt, Bram, Gill Keppens, & Filip Van Droogenbroeck. “Who Supports Populism and What Attracts People to It?” Political Research Quarterly 69, 2 (2016): 335–346. doi: https: //doi.org/10.1177/1065912916639138

Swanson, Anthony, A. “Comparative and Superlative Adjectives in Tacitus”. PhD diss., ProQuest Dissertations Publishing, 2014.

Tapsfield, James and Jack Maidment. “It's on a knife-edge!' Boris Johnson makes final, impassioned plea to voters as he warns there 'is a very real risk of a hung parliament' and says 'it's up to you now – while Jeremy Corbyn calls for a 'shock to the establishment'”. Mail Online. (2019, December 11). https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-7782375/Its-Boris-Johnson-makes-final-plea-voters-HOURS-election.html

Temmerman, Martina. “Linguistic discourse analysis as a tool for analyzing political communication”. Methods for Studies in Politics, Culture & Socialization 7, 1–2 (2016): 119–142. https://doi.org/10.3224/pcs.v7i1-2.07

The Guardian. “Boris Johnson speaks at UN of limbless chickens, Brexit and hangover cures – video”. (2019, September 25). https://www.theguardian.com/global/video/2019/sep/25/boris-johnson-speaks-at-un-of-limbless-chickens-brexit-and-hangover-cures-video

The Sun. “The Sun spends a 16-hour day with Prime Minister Johnson during the 2019 general election campaign”. (2019, December 3). [Video]. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UDwomhXbP2Y&ab_channel=TheSun

Van Dijk, Teun, A. Discourse as structure and process. London: Sage, 1997.

Wallenfeldt, Jeff. “Brexit”. (2023, July 27). Encyclopedia Britannica. https://www.britannica.com/topic/Brexit

Wodak, Ruth. “What CDA is about – a summary of its history, important concepts and its developments”. In Methods of critical discourse analysis, edited by Ruth Wodak, & Michael Meyer. London: Sage Publications, 2001.

Wood, Matthew, Jack Corbett, & Matthew Flinders. “Just like us: Everyday celebrity politicians and the pursuit of popularity in an age of anti-politics”. The British Journal of Politics and International Relations 18, 3 (2016): 581–598. doi: https://doi.org/10.1177/1369148116632182

Wooding, David. “General Election 2019: Boris Johnson says voters can have £150bn in investment for Christmas if they vote for Tories”. (2019, December 7). The Sun. https://www.thesun.co.uk/news/10505419/boris-johnson-general-election-christmas-tories/.




DOI: https://doi.org/10.22190/FUPSPH2302091C

Refbacks

  • There are currently no refbacks.


ISSN 1820-8495 (Print)

ISSN 1820-8509 (Online)