Inconsistency as an interactional problem: a lesson from political rhetoric.
The classical theory of cognitive dissonance suggests that when two related cognitions are mutually inconsistent, one of them will change to restore consistency. However, Billig suggests that inconsistency is primarily an interactional problem between subjects and not a cognitive problem within a subject. In the current paper, we adopt Billig's rhetorical approach to inconsistency and study inconsistency as an interactional problem in the context of political rhetoric. More specifically, we use Action-Implicative Discourse Analysis to identify the discursive strategies the former Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, used to cope with the inconsistency between his national ideology and his contradictory behavior during his short term in office.
Neuman
Yair
Y
Department of Education, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, Beer-Sheva, Israel 84105. yneuman@bgumail.bgu.ac.il
Tabak
Iris
I
D003071:Cognition; D006801:Humans; D007398:Interpersonal Relations; D007802:Language; D011057:Politics; D014705:Verbal Behavior