Rhetoric and the political theory of ideologies

Finlayson, Alan ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3939-349X (2012) Rhetoric and the political theory of ideologies. Political Studies, 60 (4). pp. 751-767. ISSN 0032-3217

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Abstract

The political theory of ideologies proposes a distinct way of conceiving of and analysing political thought, especially as it appears ‘in the wild’. Exploring the claim that there is a form or mode of thinking specific and proper to politics, and that it is the concern of the political theory of ideology, the article examines two of the leading contemporary approaches in this field: the morphological analysis of Michael Freeden and the discourse analysis associated with Ernesto Laclau. In showing how each produces a distinct object for theoretical analysis (respectively, ‘the concept’ and ‘the signifier’) the case is made for constituting a third object – the political argument – the apprehension of which requires the integration of aspects of the rhetorical tradition into the political theory of ideologies. The conclusion briefly outlines some of the possible implications, for political theory and analysis more generally, of the rhetorical conception of political thought and ideology.

Item Type:	Article
Faculty \ School:	Faculty of Arts and Humanities > School of Politics, Philosophy, Language and Communication Studies
UEA Research Groups:	Faculty of Arts and Humanities > Research Groups > Policy & Politics Faculty of Arts and Humanities > Research Groups > Political, Social and International Studies Faculty of Arts and Humanities > Research Groups > Cultural Politics, Communications & Media
Depositing User:	Katherine Humphries
Date Deposited:	02 Jan 2013 11:22
Last Modified:	21 Jul 2023 08:42
URI:	https://ueaeprints.uea.ac.uk/id/eprint/40633
DOI:	10.1111/j.1467-9248.2012.00948.x

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