Talking politics: The influence of historical and cultural transformations on Polish political rhetoric

Abstract

This qualitative study aims to explore the characteristics of Polish political rhetoric since 2004 when Poland’s political system stabilized after the transformation from a communist to a democratic state. It analyzes a selection of celebratory presidential speeches, PMs’ inaugurals and parliamentary debates, and populist party propagandas targeted at domestic audiences. It looks at content, but mainly at style and rhetorical devices to identify reflections of Poland’s turbulent history (resistance rhetoric), economic instability (crisis rhetoric), national heritage (traditionalism and religiosity), and recent social changes (mediatization). One significant dimension investigated here is the rhetorical projection of cultural identity (Polishness, the Nation) through metaphors, tropes and populist false dichotomies. The selected cultural inflections of political rhetoric are examined with reference to the body of empirical (Polish-language) research on the political and cultural evolution of the Polish public sphere.