Page 227 - Gabrijela Kišiček and Igor Ž. Žagar (eds.), What do we know about the world? Rhetorical and argumentative perspectives, Digital Library, Educational Research Institute, Ljubljana 2013
P. 227
the analysis of insulting practices – sticks and stones
in the croatian parliament 227
guage as well as indicate the degree of development of a national par-
liamentary discourse and, implicitly, of democracy itself. Cross-cultur-
al studies (Ilie, 2001; 2004; 2010a; 2010b), like this one, show forms and
functions of insults in different cultures, the direction of parliamentary
discourse in connection with the political/social climate, and can serve
as a possible guideline of conduct for the future elected government of-
ficials.
1.3. Research Questions
How do MPs gain desired discursive power and, implicitly, more in-
fluence with the wider audience? Do insults play an important role in at-
tention-getting? What is perceived as an insult by MPs and what trig-
gers a response? Do the MPs respond to the insults? Are insults par-
ty-line, wing-line or individually oriented? How do insulting practices
change over time, if they do? Which types of parliamentary insulting
strategies are preferred and dispreferred in Croatian debates in compar-
ison to British and Swedish ones? Does the change in insulting practice
show development of parliamentary discourse, its participants and, im-
plicitly, of democracy itself? These were some of the questions that this
research has raised.
1.4. Historical Overview
The Croatian Parliament (Hrvatski Sabor), 22 years since its founda-
tion, is significantly younger when compared with the other parliaments
in similar studies. The modern British Parliament, one of the oldest con-
tinuous representative assemblies in the world, was formed in 1707 but
has its traditions set way back into the 13th century1 and the Swedish
one (Riksdag), established in 1917, has roots found in 1453.2 The modern
Croatian Parliament was formed in 1990 and although its origins can be
traced back into the 13th century, geo-political changes in Croatia from
that period onwards make this historical continuity irrelevant for this
research. Although the representative body can be treated as a fairly new
phenomenon in Croatia, the same cannot be said for the profession of
politician. Specifically, a number of representatives in the Croatian Par-
liament had significant political functions in the political institutions of
Yugoslavia and consequently more experience in public speaking than
other MPs in the newly formed Croatian Parliament in the nineties.
However, communism and democracy do not share the same political
1 http://www.parliament.uk/about/living-heritage/evolutionofparliament/originsofparliament/
2 http://www.sweden.gov.se/sb/d/4140
in the croatian parliament 227
guage as well as indicate the degree of development of a national par-
liamentary discourse and, implicitly, of democracy itself. Cross-cultur-
al studies (Ilie, 2001; 2004; 2010a; 2010b), like this one, show forms and
functions of insults in different cultures, the direction of parliamentary
discourse in connection with the political/social climate, and can serve
as a possible guideline of conduct for the future elected government of-
ficials.
1.3. Research Questions
How do MPs gain desired discursive power and, implicitly, more in-
fluence with the wider audience? Do insults play an important role in at-
tention-getting? What is perceived as an insult by MPs and what trig-
gers a response? Do the MPs respond to the insults? Are insults par-
ty-line, wing-line or individually oriented? How do insulting practices
change over time, if they do? Which types of parliamentary insulting
strategies are preferred and dispreferred in Croatian debates in compar-
ison to British and Swedish ones? Does the change in insulting practice
show development of parliamentary discourse, its participants and, im-
plicitly, of democracy itself? These were some of the questions that this
research has raised.
1.4. Historical Overview
The Croatian Parliament (Hrvatski Sabor), 22 years since its founda-
tion, is significantly younger when compared with the other parliaments
in similar studies. The modern British Parliament, one of the oldest con-
tinuous representative assemblies in the world, was formed in 1707 but
has its traditions set way back into the 13th century1 and the Swedish
one (Riksdag), established in 1917, has roots found in 1453.2 The modern
Croatian Parliament was formed in 1990 and although its origins can be
traced back into the 13th century, geo-political changes in Croatia from
that period onwards make this historical continuity irrelevant for this
research. Although the representative body can be treated as a fairly new
phenomenon in Croatia, the same cannot be said for the profession of
politician. Specifically, a number of representatives in the Croatian Par-
liament had significant political functions in the political institutions of
Yugoslavia and consequently more experience in public speaking than
other MPs in the newly formed Croatian Parliament in the nineties.
However, communism and democracy do not share the same political
1 http://www.parliament.uk/about/living-heritage/evolutionofparliament/originsofparliament/
2 http://www.sweden.gov.se/sb/d/4140
