Political Discourse Analysis between Ambiguities and Clarity

Abstract

This paper intends, first, to expose the two ambiguities related to both the term ‘political discourse’ and the notion ‘political discourse analysis.’ The two ambiguities are clearly explained. Later, the concern of the paper will be with the two confusions existing in both Shapiro’s (1981) and Graber’s (1981) definitions of political discourse. At the end, the very appropriate definition of political discourse is provided. Actually, defining political discourse on the basis of contextual features blocks the rise of ambiguities and confusions.