Chapter 3. Under fire
Pronominal use and leadership in the discourse of Helle Thorning-Schmidt
The chapter addresses Helle Thorning-Schmidt’s performance of leadership through an analysis of her use of 1st person pronouns in two news interviews, one in Danish and the other in English. The analysis reveals a preference for the collective perspective, particularly in the Danish interview. Through strategies of shifting, blurring, aligning and contesting perspective, Thorning-Schmidt deals with issues of crisis and identity management. There are indications that she is operating with notions of transformational leadership, blended with characteristics of transactional leadership. Although a transformational leadership style is argued by some to be more feminine, I suggest that gender aspects are more apparent in relation to Thorning-Schmidt’s authenticity and legitimacy as a social democrat in the national, but not the international, context.
References (75)
Aijmer, Karin
1997 “
I Think - An English Modal Particle.” In
Modality in Germanic Languages. Historical and Comparative Perspectives, edited by
Toril Swan and
Olaf Jansen Westvik, 1-47. Berlin/New York: Mouton de Gruyter.
![DOI logo](https://benjamins.com/logos/doi-logo.svg)
![Google Scholar](https://benjamins.com/logos/google-scholar.svg)
Anthias, Floya
2012 “
Hierarchies of Social Location, Class and Intersectionality: Towards a Translocational Frame.”
International Sociology 28(1): 121-138.
![DOI logo](https://benjamins.com/logos/doi-logo.svg)
![Google Scholar](https://benjamins.com/logos/google-scholar.svg)
Baur, Nina and Stefanie Ernst
2011 “
Towards a Process-Oriented Methodology. Modern Social Science Research Methods and Norbert Elias’ Concepts on Figurational Sociology.”
Sociological Review 59(2): 117-139.
![DOI logo](https://benjamins.com/logos/doi-logo.svg)
![Google Scholar](https://benjamins.com/logos/google-scholar.svg)
Bavelas, Janet Beavin, Alex Black, Nicole Chovil, and Jennifer Mullett
1990 Equivocal Communication. Newbury Park: Sage.
![Google Scholar](https://benjamins.com/logos/google-scholar.svg)
Bell, Mark R
2013 “
Charismatic Leadership Case Study with Ronald Reagan as Exemplar.”
Emerging Leadership Journeys 6(1): 66-74.
![Google Scholar](https://benjamins.com/logos/google-scholar.svg)
Berger, Michele Tracy and Katheleen Guidroz
eds. 2010 The Intersectional Approach: Transforming the Academy Through Race, Class, and Gender. Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press.
![Google Scholar](https://benjamins.com/logos/google-scholar.svg)
Bligh, Michelle C., Jeffrey C. Kohles, and James R. Meindi
2004 “
Charisma Under Crisis: Presidential Leadership, Rhetoric, and Media Responses Before and After the September 11th Terrorist Attacks.”
The Leadership Quarterly 15(2): 211-239.
![DOI logo](https://benjamins.com/logos/doi-logo.svg)
![Google Scholar](https://benjamins.com/logos/google-scholar.svg)
Blondel, Jean and Jean-Louis Thiebault
2010 Political Leadership, Parties and Citizens: The Personalisation of Leadership. London: Routledge.
![Google Scholar](https://benjamins.com/logos/google-scholar.svg)
Boin, Arjen, Paul ‘t Hart, and Allan McConnell
2009 “
Crisis Exploitation: Political and Policy Impacts of Framing Contests.”
Journal of European Public Policy 16(1): 81-106.
![DOI logo](https://benjamins.com/logos/doi-logo.svg)
![Google Scholar](https://benjamins.com/logos/google-scholar.svg)
Borchorst, Anette
2013 “
Gender and the State.” In
Introduction to Political Sociology, edited by
Benedikte Brinker, 91-108. Copenhagen: Hans Reitzel.
![Google Scholar](https://benjamins.com/logos/google-scholar.svg)
Bucholtz, Mary
2001 “
Reflexivity and Critique in Discourse Analysis.”
Critique of Anthropology 21(2): 165–183.
![DOI logo](https://benjamins.com/logos/doi-logo.svg)
![Google Scholar](https://benjamins.com/logos/google-scholar.svg)
Bucholtz, Mary and Kira Hall
2005 “
Identity and Interaction: A Sociocultural Linguistic Approach.”
Discourse Studies 7(4-5): 585-614.
![DOI logo](https://benjamins.com/logos/doi-logo.svg)
![Google Scholar](https://benjamins.com/logos/google-scholar.svg)
Bull, Peter and Anita Fetzer
2006 “
Who Are We and Who Are You?: The Strategic Use of Forms of Address in Political Interviews.”
Text and Talk 26(1): 1-35.
![DOI logo](https://benjamins.com/logos/doi-logo.svg)
![Google Scholar](https://benjamins.com/logos/google-scholar.svg)
Burns, George MacGregor
1978 Leadership. New York: Harper and Row.
![Google Scholar](https://benjamins.com/logos/google-scholar.svg)
Bystrom, Dianne G., Terry Robertson, Mary Christine Banwart, and Lynda Lee Kaid
eds. 2004 Gender and Candidate Communication: VideoStyle, WebStyle, NewStyle. New York: Routledge.
![Google Scholar](https://benjamins.com/logos/google-scholar.svg)
Campus, Donatella
2013 Women Political Leaders and the Media. Basingstoke: Palgrave.
![DOI logo](https://benjamins.com/logos/doi-logo.svg)
![Google Scholar](https://benjamins.com/logos/google-scholar.svg)
Charteris-Black, Jonathan
2007 The Communication of Leadership. London: Routledge.
![Google Scholar](https://benjamins.com/logos/google-scholar.svg)
Chung, Cindie and James Pennebaker
2007 “
The Psychological Functions of Function Words.” In
Social Communication, edited by
Klaus Fiedler, 343-359. New York: Psychology Press.
![Google Scholar](https://benjamins.com/logos/google-scholar.svg)
Clayman, Stephen and John Heritage
2002 The News Interview: Journalists and Public Figures on the Air. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
![DOI logo](https://benjamins.com/logos/doi-logo.svg)
![Google Scholar](https://benjamins.com/logos/google-scholar.svg)
Cunliffe, Ann and Matthew Eriksen
2011 “
Relational leadership.”
Human Relations 64(11): 1425-1449.
![DOI logo](https://benjamins.com/logos/doi-logo.svg)
![Google Scholar](https://benjamins.com/logos/google-scholar.svg)
Dahl, Henrik
2011 Spildte Kræfter. Copenhagen: Gyldendal.
![Google Scholar](https://benjamins.com/logos/google-scholar.svg)
De Fina, Anna
1995 “
Pronominal Choice, Identity and Solidarity in Political Discourse.”
Text 15(3): 379-410.
![Google Scholar](https://benjamins.com/logos/google-scholar.svg)
Eagly, Alice
2005 “
Achieving Relational Authenticity in Leadership: Does Gender Matter?”
The Leadership Quarterly 16(3): 459– 474.
![DOI logo](https://benjamins.com/logos/doi-logo.svg)
![Google Scholar](https://benjamins.com/logos/google-scholar.svg)
Eilders, Christiane
2000 “
Media as Political Actors? Focusing and Selective Emphasis in the German Quality Press.”
German Politics 9(3): 181-206.
![DOI logo](https://benjamins.com/logos/doi-logo.svg)
![Google Scholar](https://benjamins.com/logos/google-scholar.svg)
Elias, Norbert
1978 What is Sociology? London: Hutchison & Co Publishers.
![Google Scholar](https://benjamins.com/logos/google-scholar.svg)
Elmelund, Rasmus and Flores Phillip Egea
2011 “
En milepæl.”
Information,
September 16.
[URL]![Google Scholar](https://benjamins.com/logos/google-scholar.svg)
Fairhurst, Gail. T
2007 Discursive Leadership. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.
![Google Scholar](https://benjamins.com/logos/google-scholar.svg)
Fairhurst, Gail. T
2011 “
Discursive Approaches to Leadership.” In
The Sage Handbook of Leadership, edited by
Alan Bryman,
David Collinson,
Keith Grint,
Brad Jackson, and
Mary Uhl-Bien, 495-507. London: Sage.
![Google Scholar](https://benjamins.com/logos/google-scholar.svg)
Fairhurst, Gail T., and Stacy Connaughton
2014 “
Leadership: A Communicative Perspective.”
Leadership 10(1): 7-35.
![DOI logo](https://benjamins.com/logos/doi-logo.svg)
![Google Scholar](https://benjamins.com/logos/google-scholar.svg)
Fiol, C. Marlene, Drew Harris, and Robert House
1999 “
Charismatic Leadership: Strategies for Effecting Social Change.”
Leadership Quarterly 10(3): 449-482.
![DOI logo](https://benjamins.com/logos/doi-logo.svg)
![Google Scholar](https://benjamins.com/logos/google-scholar.svg)
Gee, James
2005 An Introduction to Discourse Analysis: Theory and Method 2nd Edition. London: Routledge.
![Google Scholar](https://benjamins.com/logos/google-scholar.svg)
Giddens, Anthony
1998 The Third Way. The Renewal of Social Democracy. Cambridge: Polity.
![Google Scholar](https://benjamins.com/logos/google-scholar.svg)
Grint, Keith
2000 The Arts of Leadership. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
![Google Scholar](https://benjamins.com/logos/google-scholar.svg)
Grint, Keith
2010 Leadership: A Very Short Introduction. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
![DOI logo](https://benjamins.com/logos/doi-logo.svg)
![Google Scholar](https://benjamins.com/logos/google-scholar.svg)
Hartley, Jean and John Benington
2011 “
Political Leadership.” In
The Sage Handbook of Leadership, edited by
Alan Bryman,
David Collinson,
Keith Grint,
Brad Jackson, and
Mary Uhl-Bien, 203-214. London: Sage.
![Google Scholar](https://benjamins.com/logos/google-scholar.svg)
Hergel, Olav
2011 “
Portræt: Helle Thorning-Schmidt, den første af Danmark.”
Politiken [URL]![Google Scholar](https://benjamins.com/logos/google-scholar.svg)
Hood, Jacqueline
2003 “
The Relationship of Leadership Style and CEO Values to Ethical Practices in Organizations.”
Journal of Business Ethics 43(4): 263-273.
![DOI logo](https://benjamins.com/logos/doi-logo.svg)
![Google Scholar](https://benjamins.com/logos/google-scholar.svg)
Kark, Ronit
2004 “
The Transformational Leader: Who is (S)he? A Feminist Perspective.”
Journal of Organizational Change Management 17(2): 160-176.
![DOI logo](https://benjamins.com/logos/doi-logo.svg)
![Google Scholar](https://benjamins.com/logos/google-scholar.svg)
Karvonen, Lauri
2010 The Personalisation of Politics. A Study of Parliamentary Democracies. Colchester: ECPR Press.
![Google Scholar](https://benjamins.com/logos/google-scholar.svg)
Kent, Thomas W., Carrie A. Blair, Howard F. Rudd, and Ulrich Schuele
2010 “
Gender Differences and Transformational Leadership Behavior: Do Both German Men and Women Lead in the Same Way?”
International Journal of Leadership Studies 6(1): 52-66.
![Google Scholar](https://benjamins.com/logos/google-scholar.svg)
Kent, Thomas W., John C. Crotts, and Abdul Aziz
2001 “
Four Factors of Transformational Leadership Behaviour.”
The Leadership & Organization Development Journal 22(5): 221-229.
![DOI logo](https://benjamins.com/logos/doi-logo.svg)
![Google Scholar](https://benjamins.com/logos/google-scholar.svg)
King, Anthony
2002 “
The Outsider as Political Leader: The Case of Margaret Thatcher.”
British Journal of Political Science 32(3): 435-454.
![DOI logo](https://benjamins.com/logos/doi-logo.svg)
![Google Scholar](https://benjamins.com/logos/google-scholar.svg)
Ladkin, Donna
2010 Rethinking Leadership. A New Look at Old Leadership Questions. Cheltenham: Edward Elgar Publishers.
![Google Scholar](https://benjamins.com/logos/google-scholar.svg)
Lund, Anker Brink and Mark Blach-Ørsten
2013 “
Media and Politics.” In
Introduction to Political Sociology, edited by
Benedikte Brinker, 153-170. Copenhagen: Hans Reitzel.
![Google Scholar](https://benjamins.com/logos/google-scholar.svg)
Masters, Adam and Paul ‘t Hart
2012 “
Prime Ministerial Rhetoric and Recession Politics: Meaning Making in Economic Crisis Management.”
Public Administration 90(3): 759-780.
![DOI logo](https://benjamins.com/logos/doi-logo.svg)
![Google Scholar](https://benjamins.com/logos/google-scholar.svg)
Mio, Jeffery S., Ronald E. Riggio, Shana Levin, and Renford Reese
2005 “
Presidential Leadership and Charisma: The Effects of Metaphor.”
The Leadership Quarterly 16(2): 287-294
![DOI logo](https://benjamins.com/logos/doi-logo.svg)
![Google Scholar](https://benjamins.com/logos/google-scholar.svg)
Morrell, Kevin and Jean Hartley
2006 “
A Model of Political Leadership.”
Human Relations 59(4): 483-504.
![DOI logo](https://benjamins.com/logos/doi-logo.svg)
![Google Scholar](https://benjamins.com/logos/google-scholar.svg)
Moustgaard, Ulrikke
2004 Håndtasken, heksen og de blåøjede blondiner. Roskilde: Roskilde Universitetsforlag/Center for Ligestillingsforskning.
![Google Scholar](https://benjamins.com/logos/google-scholar.svg)
Mughan, Anthony
2000 Media and the Presidentialization of Parliamentary Elections. London: Palgrave.
![DOI logo](https://benjamins.com/logos/doi-logo.svg)
![Google Scholar](https://benjamins.com/logos/google-scholar.svg)
Nedergaard, Peter
2013 “
Med Thorning til Stauning.”
Raeson 13: 28-33.
May 9.
![Google Scholar](https://benjamins.com/logos/google-scholar.svg)
Nielsen, Jakob
2007 Helle for magten. Copenhagen: Politiken.
![Google Scholar](https://benjamins.com/logos/google-scholar.svg)
Pakulski, Jan and András Körösény
2011 Toward Leader Democracy. London: Anthem Press.
![Google Scholar](https://benjamins.com/logos/google-scholar.svg)
Peele, Gillian
2005 “
Leadership in Politics: A Case for a Closer Relationship.”
Leadership 1(2): 187-204.
![DOI logo](https://benjamins.com/logos/doi-logo.svg)
![Google Scholar](https://benjamins.com/logos/google-scholar.svg)
Pennebaker, James W
2011 The Secret Life of Pronouns: What Our Words Say About Us. New York: Bloomsbury Press.
![Google Scholar](https://benjamins.com/logos/google-scholar.svg)
Pennebaker, James W
2009 “
What is “I” saying?” The Language Log,
August 9.
[URL]![Google Scholar](https://benjamins.com/logos/google-scholar.svg)
Peters, Guy B. and Ludger Helms
2012 “
Executive Leadership in Comparative Perspective: Politicians, Bureaucrats and Public Governance.” In
Comparative Political Leadership, edited by
Ludger Helms, 25-55. Basingstoke: Palgrave.
![DOI logo](https://benjamins.com/logos/doi-logo.svg)
![Google Scholar](https://benjamins.com/logos/google-scholar.svg)
Proctor, Katarzyna and Lily Su
2011 “
The 1st Person Plural in Political Discourse - American Politicians in Interviews and in a Debate.”
Journal of Pragmatics 43(13): 3251-3266.
![DOI logo](https://benjamins.com/logos/doi-logo.svg)
![Google Scholar](https://benjamins.com/logos/google-scholar.svg)
Sarros, James and Joseph Santora
2001 “
The Transformational‐transactional Leadership Model in Practice.”
Leadership & Organization Development Journal 22(8): 383-394.
![DOI logo](https://benjamins.com/logos/doi-logo.svg)
![Google Scholar](https://benjamins.com/logos/google-scholar.svg)
Savage, Mike, Allan Warde, and Fiona Devine
2005 “
Capital, Assets and Resources: Some Critical Issues.”
The British Journal of Sociology 56(1): 31–47.
![DOI logo](https://benjamins.com/logos/doi-logo.svg)
![Google Scholar](https://benjamins.com/logos/google-scholar.svg)
Seyranian, Viviane and Michelle Bligh
2008 “
Presidential Charismatic Leadership: Exploring the Rhetoric of Social Change.”
The Leadership Quarterly 19(1): 54-76.
![DOI logo](https://benjamins.com/logos/doi-logo.svg)
![Google Scholar](https://benjamins.com/logos/google-scholar.svg)
Simon-Vandenbergen, Anne-Marie
1998 “
I Think and Its Dutch Equivalents in Parliamentary Debates.” In
Corpora and Cross-linguistic Research: Theory, Method, and Case Studies, edited by
Stig Johansson and
Signe Oksefjell, 297-317. Amsterdam/Atlanta: Rodopi.
![Google Scholar](https://benjamins.com/logos/google-scholar.svg)
Simon-Vandenbergen, Anne-Marie
2000 “
The Functions of I Think in Political Discourse.”
International Journal of Applied Linguistics 10(1):41-63
![DOI logo](https://benjamins.com/logos/doi-logo.svg)
![Google Scholar](https://benjamins.com/logos/google-scholar.svg)
Sinclair, Amanda
2011 “
Being Leaders: Identities and Identity Work in Leadership.” In
The Sage Handbook of Leadership, edited by
Alan Bryman,
David Collinson,
Keith Grint,
Brad Jackson, and
Mary Uhl-Bien, 508-517. London: Sage.
![Google Scholar](https://benjamins.com/logos/google-scholar.svg)
Suleiman, Camelia, Daniel C. O’Connell, and Sabine Kowal
2002 “
ʻIf You and I, If We, In This Later Day, Lose That Sacred Fire…’: Perspectives in Political Interviews.”
Journal of Psycholinguistic Research 31(3): 269-288.
![DOI logo](https://benjamins.com/logos/doi-logo.svg)
![Google Scholar](https://benjamins.com/logos/google-scholar.svg)
Suleiman, Camelia and Daniel C. O’Connell
2008 “
Race and Gender in Current American Politics: A Discourse-Analytic Perspective.”
Journal of Psycholinguistic Research 37(6): 373-389.
![DOI logo](https://benjamins.com/logos/doi-logo.svg)
![Google Scholar](https://benjamins.com/logos/google-scholar.svg)
Temmerman, Martina and Dave Sindardet
2008 “
Same Politicians, Different Journalists: Political Interviewing Styles on Dutch-Speaking and French-Speaking Public Television in Federal Belgium.”
Synergy 4(1): 39-58.
![Google Scholar](https://benjamins.com/logos/google-scholar.svg)
Toye, Richard
2011 “
The Rhetorical Premiership: A New Perspective on Prime Ministerial Power Since 1945.”
Parliamentary History 30(2): 175-192.
![DOI logo](https://benjamins.com/logos/doi-logo.svg)
![Google Scholar](https://benjamins.com/logos/google-scholar.svg)
Turner, John C., Michael A. Hogg, Penelope J. Oakes, Steve D. Reicher, and Margaret S. Wetherell
1987 Rediscovering the Social Group: A Self-Categorization Theory. Oxford: Blackwell.
![Google Scholar](https://benjamins.com/logos/google-scholar.svg)
Turner, John C., Katherine J. Reynolds, and Emine Subasic
2008 “
Identity Confers Power: The New View of Leadership in Social Psychology.” In
Public Leadership – Perspectives and Practices, edited by
Paul ‘T Hart and
John Uhr, 57-72. Canberra: ANU E Press.
![Google Scholar](https://benjamins.com/logos/google-scholar.svg)
van Krieken, Robert
2001 “
Norbert Elias and Process Sociology.” In
The Handbook of Social Theory, edited by
George Ritzer and
Barry Smart, 353-367. London: Sage.
![DOI logo](https://benjamins.com/logos/doi-logo.svg)
![Google Scholar](https://benjamins.com/logos/google-scholar.svg)
Wilson, John
1990 Politically Speaking. Oxford: Blackwell.
![Google Scholar](https://benjamins.com/logos/google-scholar.svg)
Wilson, John
2003 “
Political Discourse.” In
The Handbook of Discourse Analysis, edited by
Deborah Schiffren,
Deborah Tannen, and
Heidi E. Hamilton, 398-415. Oxford: Blackwell Publishing.
![Google Scholar](https://benjamins.com/logos/google-scholar.svg)
Wodak, Ruth
2011 The Discourse of Politics in Action. Politics as Usual 2nd Edition. Basingstoke: Palgrave.
![DOI logo](https://benjamins.com/logos/doi-logo.svg)
![Google Scholar](https://benjamins.com/logos/google-scholar.svg)
Cited by (1)
Cited by 1 other publications
Baider, Fabienne & Evi Kafetzi
This list is based on CrossRef data as of 24 june 2024. Please note that it may not be complete. Sources presented here have been supplied by the respective publishers.
Any errors therein should be reported to them.