Cultures of power in post-Communist Russia an analysis of elite political discourse

In Russian politics reliable information is scarce, formal relations are of relatively little significance, and things are seldom what they seem. Applying an original theory of political language to narratives taken from interviews with 34 of Russia's leading political figures, Michael Urban ex...

Full description

Bibliographic Details
Main Author: Urban, Michael E.
Format: eBook
Language:English
Published: Cambridge Cambridge University Press 2010
Subjects:
Online Access:
Collection: Cambridge Books Online - Collection details see MPG.ReNa
LEADER 02216nmm a2200301 u 4500
001 EB000737638
003 EBX01000000000000000589070
005 00000000000000.0
007 cr|||||||||||||||||||||
008 140413 ||| eng
020 |a 9780511761904 
050 4 |a JN6695 
100 1 |a Urban, Michael E. 
245 0 0 |a Cultures of power in post-Communist Russia  |b an analysis of elite political discourse  |c Michael Urban 
260 |a Cambridge  |b Cambridge University Press  |c 2010 
300 |a x, 216 pages  |b digital 
505 0 |a 1. Introduction -- 2. Social relations -- 3. Community -- 4. Morality -- 5. Competence -- 6. Revolution -- 7. Conclusion -- Appendix. Sketches of respondents' backgrounds 
651 4 |a Russia (Federation) / Politics and government / 1991- 
653 |a Political culture / Russia (Federation) 
653 |a Elite (Social sciences) / Russia (Federation) / Language 
653 |a Politicians / Russia (Federation) / Interviews 
653 |a Discourse analysis / Political aspects / Russia (Federation) 
041 0 7 |a eng  |2 ISO 639-2 
989 |b CBO  |a Cambridge Books Online 
028 5 0 |a 10.1017/CBO9780511761904 
856 4 0 |u https://doi.org/10.1017/CBO9780511761904  |x Verlag  |3 Volltext 
082 0 |a 306.20947 
520 |a In Russian politics reliable information is scarce, formal relations are of relatively little significance, and things are seldom what they seem. Applying an original theory of political language to narratives taken from interviews with 34 of Russia's leading political figures, Michael Urban explores the ways in which political actors construct themselves with words. By tracing individual narratives back to the discourses available to speakers, he identifies what can and cannot be intelligibly said within the bounds of the country's political culture, and then documents how elites rely on the personal elements of political discourse at the expense of those addressed to the political community. Urban shows that this discursive orientation is congruent with social relations prevailing in Russia and helps to account for the fact that, despite two revolutions proclaiming democracy in the last century, Russia remains an authoritarian state