National Identity and Nationalism in New Year's Speeches of French Presidents

Abstract

In many European countries the question of cultural identity has gained

The European paradox: A communication deficit as long as European integration steals the headlines

“…Following public opinion, recently the ideological rhetoric of a desire for a strong and united EU (e.g. Van Noije and Hijmans, 2005) has moved towards a pragmatic and businesslike tone of necessity.…”

From External Propaganda to Mediated Public Diplomacy: The Construction of the Chinese Dream in President Xi Jinping’s New Year Speeches

“…Xi's New Year Speeches 2014-2019 President Xi's New Year speeches resemble the familiar format of President Roosevelt's "fireside" radio chats, the traditional Christmas message from the British monarch and the televised New Year greetings from US presidents and other national leaders. Such televised speeches have, over time, been perfected by Western leaders (Čech, 2014;Van Noije & Hijmans, 2005). The adoption of such a familiar format shows that the CPC is not only familiar with Western political communication strategies, but is also prepared to adopt Western public diplomacy strategies to increase China's cultural and political significance.…”

Let Them Talk

“…For example, Chung and Park (2010) looked at how rhetorical substance and style of inaugural addresses by two Korean presidents helped to explain political viewpoints of the leaders. New Year’s addresses of presidents have been analyzed as a genre of political discourse with a focus on its specific characteristics (Kondratenko, 2007), on how presidents express national identity in popular communication (Noije & Hijmans, 2005), and on how presidents manipulate metaphors in their speeches to reach their ideological goals (Lu & Ahrens, 2008). In the U.S. scholarship, the popular address type of rhetoric was often studied in the contexts of State of the Union speeches (Campbell & Jamieson, 2008; Teten, 2007, etc.)…”

“…This article aims to contribute to the understanding of characteristics of presidential communication in other regions of the world and to offer certain global theoretical and practical implications for a specific genre, the New Year’s address. According to Noije and Hijmans (2005), “[t]he strength of the New Year’s speeches lies in their symbolic function” (p. 29). This symbolic function is understood in how people perceive presidents as the leaders who possess a certain degree of power in determining the destinies of their nations.…”

“…This symbolic function is understood in how people perceive presidents as the leaders who possess a certain degree of power in determining the destinies of their nations. In a discourse analysis of how French presidents express national identity and nationalism in New Year’s speeches, Noije and Hijmans (2005) wrote about the importance of this type of presidential address as an event when the leader addresses the entire population irrespective of individual citizens’ class differences or differences in political views. These characteristics allow for analysis of the rhetoric as a significant cultural artifact that provides insight into how political discourse is rhetorically constructed by heads of nations.…”