Abstract
The UK anti-austerity movement succeeded in creating a distinct space of political identification for those who sought to express their discontent with the government’s spending cuts. This chapter examines the most prominent elements of the movement’s rhetorical strategy, which it identifies as disputatious. It shows that we can understand the movement’s attempt to appeal to the public by considering three distinct yet interrelated rhetorical figures or conventions: common topics, truth telling, and juxtaposition. The combination of the three tools enabled the movement to construct and enhance its ethos, to articulate a commonsensical logos, and to create an affective bond, or pathos, with its audiences. In this way, the movement carved out a space for those who believe that there is an alternative to austerity.
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Hatzisavvidou, S. (2017). Demanding the Alternative: The Rhetoric of the UK Anti-austerity Movement. In: Atkins, J., Gaffney, J. (eds) Voices of the UK Left. Rhetoric, Politics and Society. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-51902-9_11
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