Propaganda in Politics: The Use of Language for Effect in Electioneering Campaign
Authors: Ojo, I. O., Oni, A. A., Adekunle, A. A.
Journal: International Journal of Economics and Public Policy (IJEPP), ISSN 2766-2640
Citation: IJEPP 1(1), 2021-11-12.
DOI: 10.70878/ijepp.2021.5e6277d2
Type: Original Research
Abstract
Political propaganda is a prevalent feature in electioneering campaigns. This study investigated the language use in the political campaigns of the 2015 general elections in Nigeria, with particular reference to the presidential campaign of the two leading political parties - the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and the All Progressives Congress (APC). Anchored on the pragmatic theory of Critical Discourse Analysis (CDA) and Systemic Functional Linguistics (SFL), the study analyzed how the lexical choices and syntactic structures used in the selected political advertisements and campaign speeches of the two political parties encoded their ideological inclinations. The findings showed that both political parties employed rhetorical devices such as metaphor, simile, hyperbole, and personal pronouns to persuade, condemn, and eulogize. The study concluded that political propaganda plays a significant role in shaping public opinion during electioneering campaigns.
Keywords
political propaganda, electioneering campaigns, critical discourse analysis, systemic functional linguistics, Nigeria
Full Text
Political propaganda is a prevalent feature in electioneering campaigns. This study investigated the language use in the political campaigns of the 2015 general elections in Nigeria, with particular reference to the presidential campaign of the two leading political parties - the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and the All Progressives Congress (APC). Anchored on the pragmatic theory of Critical Discourse Analysis (CDA) and Systemic Functional Linguistics (SFL), the study analyzed how the lexical choices and syntactic structures used in the selected political advertisements and campaign speeches of the two political parties encoded their ideological inclinations. The findings showed that both political parties employed rhetorical devices such as metaphor, simile, hyperbole, and personal pronouns to persuade, condemn, and eulogize. The study concluded that political propaganda plays a significant role in shaping public opinion during electioneering campaigns.