New Mathematical Methods for Analyzing Political Discourse: Functions and Graphs for Political Speeches

ISBN: 3639299728

Author: Patrut, Bogdan

Condition: New

Product Description Our research aims, first of all, at reviewing the mathematical methods and computer science tools used by specialists in political science. The mathematical models and computerized systems are useful both to the political science researcher and the politician. Various problems of political science can be solved by making use of different mathematical, linguistic or computerized models. Secondly, our research aims at designing new and original methodological tools to facilitate a thorough and impartial analysis of any electoral campaign for local elections. We introduce the concepts of accord between political discourses, from three perspectives: themes, solutions, and political values. Also, we use graph theory for analyzing political discourses. Some problems (like minimal spanning tree or Hamiltonian cycle) will help us to analyze the political discourse. Also, graph theory can be a useful mathematical tool in analyzing the electoral platforms or political discourses, highlighting nuclei of interest and links between topics. From the Author Our research aims, first of all, at reviewing the mathematical methods andcomputer science tools used by specialists in political science. Secondly, it aims atdesigning new and original methodological tools to facilitate a thorough and impartialanalysis of any electoral campaign for local elections.  Nowadays, political science research has come to increasingly rely on formaland quantitative methods. The scientists in political science can be helped by havinga solid foundation in the underlying mathematical concepts. Such scientists do betterresearch in political science, based on formal methods. Several political scientists arespecialized in studying the discourses of candidates and political platforms of theirparties.  Although some candidates going in for an election race occupy very highpositions in the opinion polls, their situation might change throughout the campaign.During the election race, they may be overtaken by other competitors with a lowerlevel of notoriety but with higher credibility, a more persuasive electoral programme,a more active and efficient campaign team that have found the appropriate ways tosend the messages to prospective voters.  The first chapter reviews several existing mathematical tools used in analyzingpolitical discourses.  In the second chapter, we intend to build a new mathematical model that mayallow us to approach the election campaign in terms of the discursive manifestationsof the political actors involved in it. In this chapter, we have defined and presentedthe term of accord between the political doctrine of a party and the electoralprogramme of the candidate supported by the respective party as variables that mayshape the electoral course of a political actor. As a research method for discourses,we have used the content analysis and for this we have adjusted a coding grid of thedomains or sub-domains which political / electoral programmes refer to: foreign policy, freedom and democracy, political system, economy, prosperity and life quality, structure of society, classes, groups and social categories.  The accord between the discourse of the party and that of the candidate may beapproached from three perspectives: thematic, actional and axiological. From athematic (problematic) perspective, we shall insist upon the extent to which theapproached topics, terms and concepts that define the candidate's discourse can alsobe found in the discourse of his party. In terms of action (solutions), we are interestedin the extent to which the same solutions to the same types of problems may be foundin the two discourses. Axiologically speaking, we shall insist upon the commonvalues promoted in the discourses of candidates and parties involved in the electoralrace.  For better formality, we have calculated the values of two function of thematicparticularization and of actional (solution) particularization for each party and