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Engl. Zsfassung u.d.T.: The language and the art of it

Engl. Zsfassung u.d.T.: Origin of the Lithuanian

The article asks the question, how foreign policy is explained by analyzing historical analogies that are voiced by policymakers? It is claimed that conventional approaches are too narrow because of two reasons. The first reason is the way conventional approaches perceive the role of historical analogies. The second reason is the dominance of positivist assumptions about history and language analysis in conventional approaches. This article presents an alternative explanation of how and why policymakers use historical analogies and develops new model for analysis of historical analogies. The model is based on the assumptions of rule-oriented constructivism, speech act theory and dialogical analysis method. Adapted from the source document.

Much academic writing about socialism & post-socialism in Eastern Europe is grounded on assumptions that socialism was "immoral," "imposed," "oppressive," etc., & was experienced as such by people subjected to socialist governments (c.f. Yurchak, 2003). The memories of Soviet times recorded in three village communities in present-day Lithuania constitute a paradox to such conceptualizations of socialism. Furthermore, memories comprise a contradiction to the rhetoric of the revolutions of 1989-1991 founded in the strong criticism of socialism. People in the village communities studied invoke the past as a space & time of security, social welfare, prosperity, a sensible way of life, as well as a moral & just order. Conversely, the present is narrated in terms of decline & regression. The memories are comments on the post-socialist changes & personal experiences of post-socialism. Dialectically, the past & the present are reproduced in all narratives. These narratives constitute subjectivities of the villagers significant in understanding some recent processes such as nostalgia of socialism & resentment towards the present. These processes increasingly define the post-1989 history of Eastern European countries (Minkenberg, 2002; Ramet, 1999). The rise of radical & populist politics in Eastern Europe gives reason to think that communication between politicians & people is carried out in a language incompletely understood in post-socialist studies. The inquiry into memories of Soviet times is a way to approach articulated subjectivities & social histories which may or have become embodied in recent political discourse. 14 References. Adapted from the source document.

Influence the television enjoys over the political processes, creating a community opinion, should be interconnected with its distribution, attainability & communicational suggestion. Audiovisual media took back the intonations of spoken language to the mass communication. Radio created a new talk, the so-called stylistic dualism, when a huge audience is addressed in a personal & intimate way. Radio has created the new forms of dialogue, audience being affected to an anonymous voice, created new relationship between the politicians & the community. Regular appeals of politics leaders through the radio to the nation became a usual phenomenon of political life. Simplicity & honesty of speech became important components of a successful political communication. Television set forth the tune of intimacy, chamberness formulated by radio. The context of view, text & sound let transmit information through all channels of public communication. Anonymous radio voice became the face of a show, which performs a ritualistic teller's role in television. History of the television development can be divided into two phases -- paleo- & neo-television. Clear gradation of genres is characteristic to the first phases, performance is distinguished from documentary, television & audience are tied by vertical hierarchic connections. Fragmentarity, convergence of genres, vanishing barriers between documentary & performance are characteristic to the conception of neo-television. Interests of the audience are taken into account much more, political, civil & private spheres come closer. Representatives of each of them perform specific roles in television: politicians make decisions (engaged word), citizens force to make decisions (expert word), & the ordinary people observe (vox populi). The approach of political & civil sphere prove the growing role of "a man from the street," naivety & familiarity is demonstrated by politicians. Openness, unforced refusal of privacy, become an important part of political life. Deflection from classical debates (word direction) to talk shows (performance of conflict) & reality shows (performance of trueness) show the alternation of dialogue genres of television. Television creates a new democracy of performance, where facts are replaced by emotions, reflection -- by action, ideas -- by personalities. Television offers its own rules of democratic discourse, politicians & citizens are motivated to become participants of this communication performance. Adapted from the source document.