Populist Discourse

1. Front Matter

   Pages i-xiii

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2. A Short Introduction to Populism

   • Marcia Macaulay

   Pages 1-26

3. Representing the People: Claiming the Heartland in Scottish Election Manifestos

   • Ruth Breeze

   Pages 27-58

4. Hugo Chávez’s Contemporary Latin American Populist Discourse

   • Ricardo Gualda

   Pages 59-87

5. Self and Other Metaphors as Facilitating Features of Populist Style in Diplomatic Discourse: A Case Study of Obama and Putin’s Speeches

   • Liudmila Arcimavičienė

   Pages 89-123

6. An Untrustworthy Entertainer: Populist Identities in the Voices of New Zealand Voters

   • Jay M. Woodhams

   Pages 125-164

7. Bernie and the Donald: A Comparison of Left- and Right-Wing Populist Discourse

   • Marcia Macaulay

   Pages 165-195

8. Conclusion

   • Marcia Macaulay

   Pages 197-214

9. Back Matter

   Pages 215-220

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This edited collection draws on case studies from around the world to shed light on the sometimes contentious topic of populism. Examining diverse contexts including North America, Latin America, Europe, New Zealand, and Russia, the authors employ different approaches to populist discourse to analyse key notions in populism such as ‘the people’ and ‘the heartland’ as well as the exploitation of medium and narrative. Each of the chapters in this book explores an aspect of the way in which populism constructs a political reality, with reference to such high-profile examples as Donald Trump, Bernie Sanders, the Scottish National Party, Hugo Chávez, Vladimir Putin, Barack Obama, and Winston Peters. This book will be of interest to students and scholars of both discourse analysis and political science.  

• Political discourse
• Nationalism
• left-wing populism
• new populism
• telepopulism
• political psychology
• Election manifestos
• Critical Discourse Analysis
• Conceptual Metaphor Theory
• Speech Act Theory
• Narrative Theory
• semantic analysis
• rhetoric
• Donald Trump
• Bernie Sanders
• Hugo Chávez
• Vladimir Putin
• Winston Peters
• Scottish Independence Referendum
• Barack Obama
• discourse analysis

“Encompassing different populist frameworks and data, this volume is valuable both in relating some of the significant findings to previous studies on populism and in providing new insight to the key notions of populist discourse. … the volume is certainly of value for researchers and scholars who are interested in populist discourse.” (Shuangshuang Lu, Journal of Language and Politics, Vol. 19 (4), 2020)

“This new volume collects together exciting analyses of the populist construction of the people, from New Zealand to Scotland, and Russia to North and South America. Recommended reading for anyone who is interested in how populist discourse works.” (Lasse Thomassen, Queen Mary, University of London, UK)

• Glendon College, York University , Toronto, Canada

  Marcia Macaulay

Marcia Macaulay is Associate Professor of English and Linguistics at York University, Canada. She is the author of Processing Varieties in English: An Examination of Oral and Written Speech Across Genres (1990), as well as articles on speech act theory, stylistics, and political discourse. She was also co-editor of Pragmatics and Context (2012).  She has most recently published on politeness in political interviews.

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