Overview
- Examines how parties in a coalition government use rhetoric to display unity while preserving their disctinct identities
- Reflects on the legacy of the Conservative-Lib Dem coalition in the key policy areas
- Uses the British case study to identify lessons for future multi-party governments
Part of the book series: Rhetoric, Politics and Society (RPS)
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Table of contents (8 chapters)
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Front Matter
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Back Matter
Keywords
- political communication
- rhetoric and politics
- British political ideology
- British coalition government
- Conservative-Lib Dem coalition
- Conservative party rhetoric
- Liberal Democrats rhetoric
- coalition policy
- coalition studies
- do coalitions wokr?
- co-operation in a coalition government
- British politics
- Rhetoric of Coalition Bargaining
- Foreign policy in the coalition government
- legacy of the coalition government
- success of the coalition government
- failures of the coalition government
About this book
Through a rhetorical analysis, this book explores how the parties in a coalition government create a united public front while preserving their distinct identities. After proposing an original framework based on the ‘new rhetoric’ of Kenneth Burke, the author charts the path from the inconclusive outcome of the 2010 UK general election and the formation of the Conservative-Liberal Democrat coalition to the dissolution of the partnership in the run-up to May 2015. In doing so, she sheds valuable light on the parties’ use of rhetoric to manage the competing dynamics of unity and distinctiveness in the areas of higher education, constitutional reform, the European Union and foreign policy. This unique and highly-accessible analysis will be of interest to a wide audience, including scholars and students of rhetoric, British politics and coalition studies.
Reviews
“This book offers a very welcome contribution to the field of rhetorical studies in general and the study of political rhetoric in particular. It shows how Burke’s conceptualization of rhetoric as identification and division is still very relevant to understanding contemporary politics. The focus on recent coalition processes in the UK is very timely and the analysis is also relevant for other political contexts. Hopefully this book will stimulate international scholars to engage in this kind of work.” (Kris Rutten, Ghent University, Belgium)
Authors and Affiliations
About the author
Judi Atkins is Senior Lecturer in Politics at Coventry University, UK. She has published widely on the relationship between rhetoric, ideology and policy in Britain, and she is author of Justifying New Labour Policy (2011) and co-editor of Rhetoric in British Politics and Society (2014) and Voices of the UK Left: Rhetoric, Ideology and the Performance of Politics (2017).
Bibliographic Information
Book Title: Conflict, Co-operation and the Rhetoric of Coalition Government
Authors: Judi Atkins
Series Title: Rhetoric, Politics and Society
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1057/978-1-137-31796-4
Publisher: Palgrave Macmillan London
eBook Packages: Political Science and International Studies, Political Science and International Studies (R0)
Copyright Information: The Editor(s) (if applicable) and The Author(s) 2018
Hardcover ISBN: 978-0-230-35967-3Published: 25 January 2018
eBook ISBN: 978-1-137-31796-4Published: 11 January 2018
Series ISSN: 2947-5147
Series E-ISSN: 2947-5155
Edition Number: 1
Number of Pages: XI, 184
Topics: British Politics, Political Communication, Political Leadership