Nowadays we have unprecedented levels of access to information; politics and the media share a closer relationship than ever before, and the more successful politicians acquire the status of quasi-celebrities. Despite this, there is widespread disenchantment with politics, a growing cynicism about the political process, and much concern about the so-called 'democratic deficit'. And yet, how much do we actually know about the real world of politics? Is our eroding trust in politicians based on a lack of understanding about the activities they actually engage in? In an extensive critical ethnography of the European Parliament, typical 'orders and disorders of discourse' are identified that illustrate the discursive mechanisms by which politics are organised in this and other (transnational, national and regional) arenas. The intricate complexity of 'power-knowledge' in the daily quest for hegemony is analysed in detail, carefully documenting politicians' movement across many 'communities of practice', employing a huge range of genres, conversational styles, argumentative moves, and (in)direct pragmatic devices, as part of their 'professional habitus'. Furthermore, the critical discourse analysis is juxtaposed with its fictionalised representation in the American TV soap The West Wing, which constructs an idealised version of this 'backstage', conveying to a global audience a highly simplistic account of what politics entails. This book goes behind the scenes of politics, uncovering the reality of daily 'politics as usual', and contrasting this with the glamorised, often sensationalised world of politics presented to us on television.

【作者簡介】

露絲•沃達剋（Ruth Wodak），英國蘭卡斯特大學傑齣教授和話語研究主席，批評話語分析的奠基人之一，“話語-曆史”話語分析方法的開創者。2004年前任教於奧地利維也納大學，2004年起任教於英國蘭卡斯特大學。1996年榮獲首屆維特根斯坦奬（奧地利最高科學奬）；2001年榮獲維也納市科學奬，2003年、2006年榮獲維也納市婦女奬；2010年被瑞典厄勒布魯大學授予榮譽博士學位，同年當選為歐洲科學院院士；2011年獲奧地利公共服務銀質榮譽勛章；2013年當選為英國社會科學院院士。

【譯者簡介】

黃敏，博士後，教授，浙江傳媒學院新聞傳播研究院常務副院長、新聞傳播學學科負責人，浙江省“錢江學者”特聘教授，浙江省151人纔工程第一層次人纔，浙江省傳播學會副會長，國傢社科基金同行評議專傢。研究方嚮為大眾傳播話語分析。在核心期刊發錶論文40餘篇，齣版專著、譯著5部。

田海龍，博士，天津外國語大學教授，博士生導師，《天津外國語大學學報》常務副主編。兼任中國社會語言學會會長，中國英漢語比較研究會話語研究專業委員會副會長、秘書長，國際學術期刊Journal of Language and Politics編委，“南開話語研究”叢書總主編，輯刊《話語研究論叢》和《中國社會語言學》主編。研究興趣：社會語言學、話語研究、翻譯研究。