<abstract xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml"><p>One of the most used theories in the research of political debates is the functional theory of campaign discourse. However, the theory has been criticized for being too culturally limited. In the present article, a Finnish presidential debate is analyzed from the perspective of functional theory. The goal is to critically evaluate the applicability of functional theory to the analysis of Finnish political campaigning. The results show that a Finnish presidential debate differs in many ways from an American presidential debate. The study shows how strongly the culture is reflected in political television debates and how important it is to take account of the cultural perspective in the development of a theory.</p></abstract>

One of the most used theories in the research of political debates is the functional theory of campaign discourse. However, the theory has been criticized for being too culturally limited. In the present article, a Finnish presidential debate is analyzed from the perspective of functional theory. The goal is to critically evaluate the applicability of functional theory to the analysis of Finnish political campaigning. The results show that a Finnish presidential debate differs in many ways from an American presidential debate. The study shows how strongly the culture is reflected in political television debates and how important it is to take account of the cultural perspective in the development of a theory.

Analyzing Presidential Debates

Ph.D. Professor, School of Communication, Media and Theatre, University of Tampere

Nordicom Review

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 3.0 License.

Functional Theory and Finnish Political Communication Culture

One of the most used theories in the research of political debates is the functional theory of campaign discourse. However, the theory has been criticized for...

Analyzing Presidential Debates

Publié en ligne: 30 janv. 2017

Pages: 31 - 43

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1515/nor-2017-0103

Mots clés
culture, debate, Finland, presidential, television, theory

© 2011 Pekka Isotalus, published by De Gruyter Open

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 3.0 License.

Analyzing Presidential Debates

Publié en ligne: 30 janv. 2017

Pages: 31 - 43

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1515/nor-2017-0103

Mots clésculture, debate, Finland, presidential, television, theory

© 2011 Pekka Isotalus, published by De Gruyter Open

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 3.0 License.

Mots clés
culture, debate, Finland, presidential, television, theory