Assessing the Politics of Debasement: From Impoliteness to Demonization in Political Communication

Abstract

This chapter presents an introduction to the book. Following the first, brief introductory section, the chapter is divided into five additional sections. The second defines political debasement as the use of derogatory language, often by employing rhetorical devices as irony, cynicism, sarcasm, mockery, and ridicule, to strongly demean or degrade a certain target in the polity, especially those involved in the political process. The third distinguishes between debasement and incivility, offering specific examples for each type of discourse. The fourth section suggests a detailed account of how to assess and examine political debasement, including its narrow and broad senses, detailing important sub-categories of the latter. This is followed by a discussion on the key aspects at the center of the interaction between debaser(s) and their target(s). The final section of this chapter focuses on a proposed model consisting of eight elements or factors that need to be considered in studying political debasement. These elements are detailed one-by-one, suggesting questions that should be addressed regarding each element in future studies on the function, role, and effect of debasement language in the public sphere. Finally, the chapter details the structure of the book and briefly describes each of the contributions.

Throughout the book, long quotes of politicians appear first in the English language followed by their original language in Roman letters.