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‘To thine own self be true’: The perceived meanings and functions of political consistency

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  16 September 2019

Elie Friedman  and
Zohar Kampf
Elie Friedman*
Affiliation:
The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Israel
Zohar Kampf
Affiliation:
The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Israel
*
Address for correspondence: Elie Friedman, The Department of Communications and Journalism, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem Mount Scopius Jerusalem 9190501, Israel[email protected]
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Abstract

Being perceived as consistent is a crucial concern for political actors’ in their efforts to mobilize public opinion. This study comprises an analysis of the self-reflexive performance of consistency by Israeli politicians, focusing on the definitions and types of ‘consistency’ in political talk and their consequences. Through an analysis of 194 meta-discursive statements between 2006 and 2017, we illustrate that consistency constitutes a spatiotemporal coordination among cognitions, actions (words and deeds), and the external world, while also being viewed as potentially transforming political reality. Perceived as a sought-after value indicative of truth-telling, determination, and clarity, political actors view consistency as an essential character trait, associated with ideological fortitude, and a basis for practical policy realization. (Consistency, ideology, political discourse, meta-discourse)*

Type
Articles
Information
Language in Society , Volume 49 , Issue 1 , February 2020 , pp. 89 - 113
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2019

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Footnotes

*

Both authors contributed equally to the research and composition of this article. We would like to thank Dr. Shaul Shenhav for his helpful comments on an earlier version of this work. We would like to thank the Lady Davis Fellowship Trust for generously supporting this study.

References

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