Combining Laclauian Discourse Analysis and Framing Theory Václav Havel’s ‘Hegemonic Rhetoric’ in Charter 77

The literature on the resistance and protest movements of Czechoslovakian dissidents and intellectuals during the communist period is abundant, but little attention has been devoted to close rhetorical analysis of the texts by the leaders of these movements. In conducting a case study of the rhetori...

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Bibliographic Details
Published inPolitologický časopis Vol. XXVIII; no. 2; pp. 186 - 203
Main Author Saharov, Juhan
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published Brno Masarykova univerzita nakladatelství 01.01.2021
Masaryk University Press
International Institute of Political Science, Masaryk University
Subjects
Case studies
Charters
Communism
Discourse analysis
Frame analysis
Hegemony
Political leadership
Politics / Political Sciences
Post-War period (1950 - 1989)
Protest movements
Resistance
Rhetoric
Social activism
Social movements
Social Sciences
Theory
dissidence
framing theory
Laclauian discourse analysis
Václav Havel’s play Temptation
Charter 77
collective action frames
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Summary:The literature on the resistance and protest movements of Czechoslovakian dissidents and intellectuals during the communist period is abundant, but little attention has been devoted to close rhetorical analysis of the texts by the leaders of these movements. In conducting a case study of the rhetoric of the Czechoslovakian social movement Charter 77 during its early period of activity (1977–1978) as embodied in the early political essays of its leader Václav Havel and in the declaration of the movement, this article highlights the need to combine two theories in studying the rhetoric of social movement leaders: Laclauian discourse analysis and social movement framing theory. The article claims that, in order better to explain the choice of rhetoric of social movements, the two theories can be used in a single framework as an empirical method for analyzing social movements’ strategies. The study shows how combining Laclauian discourse analysis with framing theory expands social movement analysis; in combination, this framework explains the inception, emergence and choice of strategy of the Charter 77 movement.
ISSN:1211-3247
1805-9503
DOI:10.5817/PC2021-2-186