In light of the growing emotionalization of public discourse, this article deals with the action ... more In light of the growing emotionalization of public discourse, this article deals with the action of shame allocation in Israeli accountability interviews. A qualitative analysis of tokens of the Hebrew verb lehitbayesh ‘to be ashamed’ in political interviews was conducted using Discursive Psychology and Conversation Analysis methods. The findings show that in this public context the verb lehitbayesh is mostly not used to convey an emotional state, nor can its meaning be explained by the classic theoretical conceptualization of shame. Instead, lehitbayesh is mobilized to allocate shame to another actor, and portrays the allocator as morally superior and as someone who sacrifices for what is right. Lehitbayesh is part of the negotiations between journalists and politicians over the question of who is accountable for a transgressive act, what the desired response is, and who the relevant audience for the moral lesson is.
In September 2010, a video titled “It Gets Better” was uploaded to YouTube, responding to suicide... more In September 2010, a video titled “It Gets Better” was uploaded to YouTube, responding to suicides of gay teens who had suffered from homophobic bullying. Before long, thousands of Internet users added their own versions of the clip, creating a mass appeal to young people while simultaneously negotiating the norms of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer (LGBTQ) collective identity. Conceptualizing this body of videos as an Internet meme, we examine the extent to which participants imitate or alter textual components presented in previous videos. A combined quantitative and qualitative analysis of 200 clips shows that in an arena ostensibly free of formal gatekeepers, participants tend to police themselves, toeing the line with conformist norms. We also identify domains of potential subversion, related not only to the content of the videos but mainly to the forms facilitated by digital media.
Personal commitments are a ubiquitous but undertheorized phenomenon in the everyday wheels of wor... more Personal commitments are a ubiquitous but undertheorized phenomenon in the everyday wheels of world politics. While resonating with multiple threads in international relations theory, the role of individuals’ commitments in statecraft, diplomacy, and foreign policy has hardly been addressed in and of itself. Drawing on insights from symbolic interactionism and organizational psychology, this article conceptualizes the notion of commitment highlighting its omnipresence in foreign policy and diplomatic practice. Specifically, the article demonstrates the analytical cache of the notion of commitment by focusing on moments when state-agents deviated from their commitment to the national interest, acting on behalf of other foci of commitment. Relying on Israeli, French, and EU diplomatic archives, we examine three illustrative case studies that show how and why state-agents dedicate time, energy, and resources to advance interests other than those of the state.
This paper proposes a research agenda for studying the building blocks of amicable communication ... more This paper proposes a research agenda for studying the building blocks of amicable communication and their role in fostering sociability between states. Against the backdrop of linguistic-pragmatic, international relations, and communication theories, it first theorizes the state as a communicating actor in social interactions and conceptualizes amicable actions and their potential to advance relations in interstate communication. On the basis of 2,180 amicable statements performed by a variety of international actors in a range of communicative contexts, a classification according to variations, intended goals, and prevalence of amicable actions is suggested. The findings show a preference to perform interstate communication through solidarity-oriented and expressive actions. Asserting friendship and thanking were found to be the most popular actions, frequently utilized by international actors in a range of ceremonial contexts. Paying respect and expressions of honor were found to...
Demands for apology are a prominent rhetorical means for pointing out transgressions in contempor... more Demands for apology are a prominent rhetorical means for pointing out transgressions in contemporary world politics. They transform ‘seen but unnoticed’ conduct into ‘seen and noticed’ transgression and attach a price tag to the restoration of damaged relations. Nevertheless, compared to the widely discussed practice of apologising, demands for apologies have received scant scholarly attention. In this article we adopt an actor-oriented perspective in order to situate the speech act of demanding an apology within the delicate management of interstate relations. In-depth content analysis of 57 cases of demands made by various state actors in a variety of diplomatic contexts between 1999 and 2019 let us delineate the discursive construction of transgressions, the normative scripts that inform acts of demands, the types of sought-after remedies, and their discursive consequences. We conclude by discussing the normative diplomatic scripts that guide demands for apology and how these spe...
We argue that the move from print to broadcast has brought about new modes of reporting. Rather t... more We argue that the move from print to broadcast has brought about new modes of reporting. Rather than observe events from the wings, contemporary journalists often perform as active agents on stage, sometimes even playing the role of protagonists in the story. Such new journalistic practices are particularly significant at times of conflict; a moment in which the relationship among
Trust is a central element in the relations between journalists and their sources. It becomes esp... more Trust is a central element in the relations between journalists and their sources. It becomes especially complicated in conflict situations; while journalists must depend on information flowing fro...
Targeting messages on sensitive, conflict-related issues while mediating between disparate audien... more Targeting messages on sensitive, conflict-related issues while mediating between disparate audience expectations presents a significant risk to the image and interests of political actors. This study provides a basis for understanding the factors that impact a politician’s choice between using message consistencies or gaps and discusses their consequences for conflict resolution processes. Based on quantitative and qualitative analysis of 644 messages presented by Israeli officials with respect to the Israeli–Arab conflict and Israeli–Palestinian conflict over three different periods (1967‒73; 1993‒2000; 2009‒12), the study points to foreign relations defined by the existence of negotiations rather than mediatization processes as the significant factor that impacts the rhetorical dynamics of conflict resolution negotiations, due to the amplified pressures of a two-level game during periods of rapprochement.
This issue is the product of a series of coincidences that remind us once again of the special re... more This issue is the product of a series of coincidences that remind us once again of the special relationship between our field of research and the world outside. In the summer of 2008 we invited media scholars from leading universities to join a research seminar in Jerusalem to ...
In recent years, political communication scholars have been paying growing attention to new telev... more In recent years, political communication scholars have been paying growing attention to new television genres blending entertainment and politics (Baym, 2005; Corner and Pels, 2003; Van Zoonen, 2005). A key dilemma driving these studies touches upon the consequences of ...
This issue is the product of a series of coincidences that remind us once again of the special re... more This issue is the product of a series of coincidences that remind us once again of the special relationship between our field of research and the world outside. In the summer of 2008 we invited media scholars from leading universities to join a research seminar in Jerusalem to ...
In light of the growing emotionalization of public discourse, this article deals with the action ... more In light of the growing emotionalization of public discourse, this article deals with the action of shame allocation in Israeli accountability interviews. A qualitative analysis of tokens of the Hebrew verb lehitbayesh ‘to be ashamed’ in political interviews was conducted using Discursive Psychology and Conversation Analysis methods. The findings show that in this public context the verb lehitbayesh is mostly not used to convey an emotional state, nor can its meaning be explained by the classic theoretical conceptualization of shame. Instead, lehitbayesh is mobilized to allocate shame to another actor, and portrays the allocator as morally superior and as someone who sacrifices for what is right. Lehitbayesh is part of the negotiations between journalists and politicians over the question of who is accountable for a transgressive act, what the desired response is, and who the relevant audience for the moral lesson is.
In September 2010, a video titled “It Gets Better” was uploaded to YouTube, responding to suicide... more In September 2010, a video titled “It Gets Better” was uploaded to YouTube, responding to suicides of gay teens who had suffered from homophobic bullying. Before long, thousands of Internet users added their own versions of the clip, creating a mass appeal to young people while simultaneously negotiating the norms of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer (LGBTQ) collective identity. Conceptualizing this body of videos as an Internet meme, we examine the extent to which participants imitate or alter textual components presented in previous videos. A combined quantitative and qualitative analysis of 200 clips shows that in an arena ostensibly free of formal gatekeepers, participants tend to police themselves, toeing the line with conformist norms. We also identify domains of potential subversion, related not only to the content of the videos but mainly to the forms facilitated by digital media.
Personal commitments are a ubiquitous but undertheorized phenomenon in the everyday wheels of wor... more Personal commitments are a ubiquitous but undertheorized phenomenon in the everyday wheels of world politics. While resonating with multiple threads in international relations theory, the role of individuals’ commitments in statecraft, diplomacy, and foreign policy has hardly been addressed in and of itself. Drawing on insights from symbolic interactionism and organizational psychology, this article conceptualizes the notion of commitment highlighting its omnipresence in foreign policy and diplomatic practice. Specifically, the article demonstrates the analytical cache of the notion of commitment by focusing on moments when state-agents deviated from their commitment to the national interest, acting on behalf of other foci of commitment. Relying on Israeli, French, and EU diplomatic archives, we examine three illustrative case studies that show how and why state-agents dedicate time, energy, and resources to advance interests other than those of the state.
This paper proposes a research agenda for studying the building blocks of amicable communication ... more This paper proposes a research agenda for studying the building blocks of amicable communication and their role in fostering sociability between states. Against the backdrop of linguistic-pragmatic, international relations, and communication theories, it first theorizes the state as a communicating actor in social interactions and conceptualizes amicable actions and their potential to advance relations in interstate communication. On the basis of 2,180 amicable statements performed by a variety of international actors in a range of communicative contexts, a classification according to variations, intended goals, and prevalence of amicable actions is suggested. The findings show a preference to perform interstate communication through solidarity-oriented and expressive actions. Asserting friendship and thanking were found to be the most popular actions, frequently utilized by international actors in a range of ceremonial contexts. Paying respect and expressions of honor were found to...
Demands for apology are a prominent rhetorical means for pointing out transgressions in contempor... more Demands for apology are a prominent rhetorical means for pointing out transgressions in contemporary world politics. They transform ‘seen but unnoticed’ conduct into ‘seen and noticed’ transgression and attach a price tag to the restoration of damaged relations. Nevertheless, compared to the widely discussed practice of apologising, demands for apologies have received scant scholarly attention. In this article we adopt an actor-oriented perspective in order to situate the speech act of demanding an apology within the delicate management of interstate relations. In-depth content analysis of 57 cases of demands made by various state actors in a variety of diplomatic contexts between 1999 and 2019 let us delineate the discursive construction of transgressions, the normative scripts that inform acts of demands, the types of sought-after remedies, and their discursive consequences. We conclude by discussing the normative diplomatic scripts that guide demands for apology and how these spe...
We argue that the move from print to broadcast has brought about new modes of reporting. Rather t... more We argue that the move from print to broadcast has brought about new modes of reporting. Rather than observe events from the wings, contemporary journalists often perform as active agents on stage, sometimes even playing the role of protagonists in the story. Such new journalistic practices are particularly significant at times of conflict; a moment in which the relationship among
Trust is a central element in the relations between journalists and their sources. It becomes esp... more Trust is a central element in the relations between journalists and their sources. It becomes especially complicated in conflict situations; while journalists must depend on information flowing fro...
Targeting messages on sensitive, conflict-related issues while mediating between disparate audien... more Targeting messages on sensitive, conflict-related issues while mediating between disparate audience expectations presents a significant risk to the image and interests of political actors. This study provides a basis for understanding the factors that impact a politician’s choice between using message consistencies or gaps and discusses their consequences for conflict resolution processes. Based on quantitative and qualitative analysis of 644 messages presented by Israeli officials with respect to the Israeli–Arab conflict and Israeli–Palestinian conflict over three different periods (1967‒73; 1993‒2000; 2009‒12), the study points to foreign relations defined by the existence of negotiations rather than mediatization processes as the significant factor that impacts the rhetorical dynamics of conflict resolution negotiations, due to the amplified pressures of a two-level game during periods of rapprochement.
This issue is the product of a series of coincidences that remind us once again of the special re... more This issue is the product of a series of coincidences that remind us once again of the special relationship between our field of research and the world outside. In the summer of 2008 we invited media scholars from leading universities to join a research seminar in Jerusalem to ...
In recent years, political communication scholars have been paying growing attention to new telev... more In recent years, political communication scholars have been paying growing attention to new television genres blending entertainment and politics (Baym, 2005; Corner and Pels, 2003; Van Zoonen, 2005). A key dilemma driving these studies touches upon the consequences of ...
This issue is the product of a series of coincidences that remind us once again of the special re... more This issue is the product of a series of coincidences that remind us once again of the special relationship between our field of research and the world outside. In the summer of 2008 we invited media scholars from leading universities to join a research seminar in Jerusalem to ...
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