Abstract Summary
Since the debate over the sheep poster, the Swiss People’s Party (SVP) constructs its political discourse on the exclusion of some ethnic and racial groups for not being (enough) Swiss. Using methods of critical discourse analysis, this paper discusses the SVP’s political discourse of exclusion as a per se means of political performance.
Abstract :
The debate over the sheep poster of the Swiss People’s Party (SVP) in 2007 can be considered as a paradigm shift in the overall discourse on stigmatization and discrimination in this country. Since this debate, the SVP constantly constructs its political discourse on the explicit ethnic and/or racial exclusion of social groups targeted for not being Swiss nationals, or rather Swiss enough. Using semiotic and discursive symbols on posters as conceptual metaphors (Wodak 2015) representing these groups, this political party overtly communicates and breaks taboos on racism and discrimination in Swiss public spheres. Doing so, these metaphors function as means of social exclusion. This paper seeks to analyze the SVP’s political discourse of exclusion as a per se means of political performance. It questions how conceptual metaphors are used in the discursive construction of the SVP to justify ethnic and racial exclusion as natural in the order of things, as legitimate means of national, cultural, and racial self-preservation. Based on Reisigl (2016), Burkhardt (2002), Girnth (2002), Stollznow (2017) and Innerwinkler (2010), the analysis concentrates on salient forms of naming social groups such as “Neger” (German) with corresponding semiotic symbols on some posters. In the vein of Reisigl/Wodak (2016), specific types of nominations, predications and argumentations are of interest to criticize racial and discriminatory aspects in the discourse construction of this right-wing populist party.
Key words: critical discourse analysis- conceptual metaphors- exclusion- right-wing discourse
