The Power of the Spoken Word - A case study on Hugo Chávez's rhetorical impact on social conflicts in Venezuela
Abstract: With the rise from populism over the last few decades, one can observe an increase in the violent clashes connected to populists. However, this seems to be in coherence with the right-wing side mostly, because the left-wing side gets forgotten in the calculations over conflict together with populism. Therefore, the purpose of this thesis is to dive into a case study that is taking place in Venezuela, more specific with the focus on the populistic left-wing leader Hugo Chávez. The aim is to view what role the populistic rhetoric from Chávez has played in the social conflicts in the country. It is carried out as a discourse analysis, by analysing four speeches by Chávez, taking place in different years with different effects on society. To be able to explain the statements, the help will come from two theoretical frameworks: a populistic theory and a social conflict theory. The question is what role the populistic rhetoric from Hugo Chávez played in the occurring social conflicts. In terms of result, the rhetorical tools Chávez used had some amount of impact on social conflicts. However, one cannot exclude the effect of other essential factors in the development of social conflict in Venezuela.
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