engleski

Aggressive rhetoric in Croatian post-election political discourse

Aggressiveness in Croatian political discourse has been on the rise over the last few years. Aggressive rhetoric became particularly prominent during the last parliamentary election held in the fall of 2015. A deep polarization of society yielded a new political option, one of the strongest in the 25-year long period of Croatian independence. After the great election success, this third political option got the opportunity to form the new Croatian Government. In this paper we will focus on the discourse analysis of the post-election debates, polemics, negotiations, statements and comments of the two strongest Croatian political parties SDP (Social Democratic Party) and HDZ (Croatian Democratic Union), as well as the new political party Most nezavisnih lista (Bridge of Independent Lists). Aggressiveness of discourse displayed by the most prominent representatives of these parties, which is most often manifested in discrediting and belittling the opponent, will be analyzed on the basis of their public appearances. Rhetorical devices used in the process are fallacies, tropes and figures, categorical claims, personalization, etc. We will list, describe and interpret the used rhetorical devices, which contribute to the aggressiveness of Croatian political discourse, and ultimately conclude which of the political options listed above is most aggressive.

aggressiveness, political discourse, rhetorical devices

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