Methods of discursive psychology in the research of political populism: feasibility and possibilities of application

Abstract

The article reveals the relevance of the study of populist political discourse in the context of modern socio-political processes, and justifies the need to find effective tools for solving research tasks. It is emphasized that the multifaceted nature of the study of populism (as a political technology, as a specific nature of political activity, as a socio-political phenomenon, as an ideology, etc.) actualizes the problem of finding effective methods of its research, determining the essence of this phenomenon of political reality. In this context, the potential of the methods of discursive psychology as a possible tool for the study of political populist discourse is analyzed. Discursive psychology is defined as one of the directions of social constructivism. The possibilities of using the tools of this field of knowledge for the study of populist discourse are revealed. Also the possibilities of discourse analysis and its application for decoding meanings and interpreting information in the process of social interaction are analyzed. It is shown that the participants of this interaction are considered by discursive psychology, on the one hand, as products of certain discourses, on the other hand, as their producers, as agents of cultural reproduction and social changes. The main theoretical and empirical studies of discourse, which were formed within the framework of discursive psychology, are analyzed. The main provisions of M. Foucault’s post-structuralist theory are revealed, which is based on the analysis of the interrelationship of discourse, power and the subject. The main provisions of the theory of interactionism are highlighted and the approach to discourse as a manifestation of the inner world of a person, which is formed in the process of social interaction – a kind of "exchange of symbols" through interaction, is analyzed. Based on the research results of J. Potter and M. Wetherell, an attempt, within the synthetic approach, to combine these two paradigms is analyzed. The main principles of discursive psychology are singled out, the use of which is, in the opinion of the author, expedient for the study of political populist discourse. As a result of the research, the author came to the conclusion about the expediency of using the methods of discursive psychology as a tool for researching political populist discourse, the significant heuristic potential of the selected methods for political science, in particular in linguistic and discursive research of political populist discourse.