Promoters & reseachers
Project duration
October 2021 – ongoing
Keywords
Discourse, political strategy, political communication, rhetoric, Discourse Theory, discourse analysis, Laclau, Mouffe, ontology
Funding
Self-funded
Description
This project is grounded in a discourse-theoretical reconceptualization of political strategy and political communication. Such a reconceptualization takes the study of political strategy beyond the examination of the intentions and the goals of the actors, in order to focus on the constitutive function and the political effects of political strategy. From this perspective, all instances of social construction can be interpreted as having a politico-strategic dimension: they normalize, reify, and reproduce certain social patterns; contesting, politicizing, and problematizing others; while rendering some altogether unimaginable. This project first and foremost seeks to articulate Post-Marxist Discourse Theory as a coherent theory of political strategy on an ontological, epistemological, and methodological level. Secondly, it operationalizes this theorization in empirical research, demonstrating its added value to the analysis of tangible political strategies and their impact. Finally, the project also aims to leverage its theoretical and empirical insights into concrete contributions to the public debate.
Scientific publications
Jacobs, Thomas ; Gheyle, Niels ; De Ville, Ferdi ; Orbie, Jan. The Hegemonic Politics of ‘Strategic Autonomy’ and ‘Resilience’: COVID‐19 and the Dislocation of EU Trade Policy. In: JCMS: Journal of Common Market Studies, Vol. 19, no. 1, p. 3-19 (2023). doi:10.1111/jcms.13348. http://hdl.handle.net/2078.1/263622
Jacobs, Thomas. From sender-message-receiver to reception, discourse, and narrative: an appreciation of the Récits judiciaires de l’Europe series from the perspective of communication science. In: Antoine Bailleux, Elsa Bernard, Sophie Jacquot, Quentin Landenne, Les récits judiciaires de l’Europe – Diffusion, réception et coproduction (Tome III) (Récit Judiciaire de l’Europe; Tome III), Larcier, 2023, p. 23-39. 978-2-8027-7278-1. http://hdl.handle.net/2078.1/280232
Jacobs, Geert ; Jacobs, Thomas, Verkest Sophie. Political Discourse as Institutional Communication. In: Piotr Cap, Handbook of Political Discourse, Edward Elgar Publishing, 2023, p. 317-327. 9781800373563. doi:10.4337/9781800373570.00030. http://hdl.handle.net/2078.3/277736
Couvreur, Sjorre ; De Ville, Ferdi ; Jacobs, Thomas ; Orbie, Jan. 2023. The good geopolitical trade actor? The European Union’s discursive justification of the Anti-Coercion Instrument. In: Annette Bongardt and Francisco Torres, Globalization and EU trade policy at the time of crises, Almedina, 2023, p. 189-212. http://hdl.handle.net/2078.1/280230
Jacobs, Thomas. Hegemony, Discourse, and Political Strategy: Towards a post-Marxist understanding of contestation and politicization. John Benjamins: Amsterdam (2022) (ISBN:9789027211620) 233 pages. http://hdl.handle.net/2078.3/26644
Couvreur, Sjorre ; De Ville, Ferdi ; Jacobs, Thomas ; Orbie, Jan. The good geopolitical trade actor? The European Union’s discursive justification of the Anti-Coercion Instrument. Perspectivas-Journal of Political Science, Vol. 27 (2022), p. 133-147. http://hdl.handle.net.usaintlouis.idm.oclc.org/2078.1/277735
Jacobs, Thomas. Institutions and Political Strategy in Post-Marxist Discourse Theory: A Reply to Pedro Rey-Araújo. In: Rethinking Marxism, Vol. 33, no.1, p. 154-161 (2021). http://hdl.handle.net/2078.3/26644
Scientific communications
Jacobs, Thomas. ‘¡Hasta la victoria siempre! A discourse-theoretical typology of left-wing political strategy’. Discourse Theory: Ways Forward. Vrije Universiteit Brussel, 23-24/3/2023). http://hdl.handle.net/2078.1/280234
Jacobs, Thomas. Hegemony, Discourse, and Political Strategy. DNC5ALED congress: Discourses and their impacts on a world of multiple crises, 25-28/7/2023, University of Valencia. http://hdl.handle.net/2078.1/280236
Jacobs, Thomas.Hegemony, Discourse, and Political Strategy. IAMCR conference: Inhabiting the planet: Challenges for media, communication and beyond. 9-13/7/2023, à Science Po Lyon. http://hdl.handle.net/2078.1/280240
Jacobs, Thomas. Triangulating and combining qualitative and quantitative methods in social science. Journées doctorales Engage & ReSIC « Opening the black box of interpretation and coding: Comment faire des choix épistémologiques et méthodologiques en SIC et en sciences sociales ? » (UCLouvain Saint-Louis Bruxelles, 1-2/06/2023). http://hdl.handle.net/2078.1/280245
Jacobs, Thomas. Discutant de la présentation de Sandrine Roginsky sur « La fabrique du capital médiatique à l’aune des médias socionumériques : entre permanence et reconfiguration des activités de médiation des député·es européen·nes », Séminaire Engage (UCLouvain Saint-Louis Bruxelles, 16/11/2023).
Societal valorization
Jacobs, Thomas. « Waarom Bernie Sanders zo populair is bij jongeren, ook in België: ‘Je zou zo een pint met hem gaan drinken’ », De Standaard, 10/10/2023.
Jacobs, Thomas. « Die brave linksen kunnen nog wat opsteken van de branie op rechts », De Standaard, 30/05/2023.