Understanding Political Discourse

Understanding Political Discourse first draws on a critical phase in the formation of the Islamic rule in Iran, pointing to the immediate identity forged between the ruled and their rulers when insurrection of the people against the Shah's tyrannical rule gives way to their constitution by the Islamic state as a people. Next, the authors analyze the speeches held by two of the candidates running for the 2013 presidential election in Iran, namely Mr. Hassan Rouhani and Mr. Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf. Nationalism, which emerged in 1789 with the French Revolution, has an important place in terms of the sense of belonging and the definition of self. In Turkey, the ideology of nationalism was proposed by some ideologists as a salvation response in the late Ottoman Empire. The authors evaluate the concept of Turkish nationalism advocated by Ziya Gokalp. Light is shed on the political discourse of protest focusing on the Rabaa sign, the sign that appeared following the massacre in Egypt and that which became the official sign of Erdogan's party, the Justice and Development Party in Turkey. Additionally, political discourse about immigration that appeared in the main newspapers of the Spanish press during the month before the general parliamentary elections held on April 28, 2019 is explored. The closing chapter discusses how digital technologies in the 21st century have transformed human interaction, improved the mode and speed by which we perform daily activities, and increased the efficiency of production. But in consequence, they have had detrimental effects on the human capacity for creativity, critical thinking, and language expression.