Metaphor and Politics

Abstract

For at least 3 decades, researchers and political theorists have been interested in how metaphors are used as persuasive devices. Theorists in this area have tended to assume that metaphors are persuasive, and they have discussed how this process occurs. They have focused on the necessity of communication in politics and have noted that metaphors have assisted politicians in communicating more effectively by addressing latent symbolic themes residing in segments of the public consciousness. Metaphors also fit in with the new information-processing models of political knowledge, in which metaphors collapse complicated issues into more simplified packets of information that can be easily understood by the public. However, research in this area is much more equivocal. Metaphors do not appear to be generally effective, so the future of research needs to focus upon specific areas in which they are effective as opposed to answering the general question of whether they are effective or not.