Delimiting the burden of proof in political interviews
This paper aims to contribute to an understanding of the politicians’ burden of proof in political interviews by explaining how politicians attempt to delimit the burden of proof which they acquire for their standpoints in response to criticism. As politicians always want to give a positive evaluation of their activities, they respond to the critics by delimiting their burden of proof in such a way that their standpoints are easy to defend. The research question to be answered is: How do politicians expediently delimit their burden of proof in political interviews in response to criticism? First, the author characterizes political interviews as accountability practices which by virtue of their institutional traits impose limits on the politicians’ burden of proof. Second, the author explains some of the possibilities for delimiting the burden of proof in the communicative practices at issue by analyzing in detail several fragments from a political interview.
References (14)
Bovens, M
2006 “
Analysing and Assessing Accountability: A Conceptual Framework”.
European Law Journal 13 (4): 447–468.
![DOI logo](https://benjamins.com/logos/doi-logo.svg)
![Google Scholar](https://benjamins.com/logos/google-scholar.svg)
Clayman, S., and J. 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)
Eemeren, F.H. van and P. Houtlosser
2002 “
Strategic Maneuvering with the Burden of Proof”. In
Advances in Pragma-dialectics, ed. by
F.H. van Eemeren, 13–28. Amsterdam/Newport News, Virginia: Sic Sat/Vale Press.
![Google Scholar](https://benjamins.com/logos/google-scholar.svg)
Fetzer, A
2007 “
Well if that had not been True, that would have been Perfectly Reasonable: Appeals to Reasonableness in Political Interviews”.
Journal of Pragmatics 39 (8): 1342–1359.
![DOI logo](https://benjamins.com/logos/doi-logo.svg)
![Google Scholar](https://benjamins.com/logos/google-scholar.svg)
Fraser, N
1992 “
Rethinking the Public Sphere: A Contribution to the Critique of Actually Existing Democracy”.
Social text 25/261: 56–80.
![Google Scholar](https://benjamins.com/logos/google-scholar.svg)
Houtlosser, P
2002 “
Indicators of a Point of View”. In
Advances in Pragma-dialectics, ed. by
F.H. van Eemeren, 169–184. Amsterdam/Newport News, Virginia: Sic Sat/Vale Press.
![Google Scholar](https://benjamins.com/logos/google-scholar.svg)
Kauffeld, F.J
2007 “
The Burden of Proof: A Macro or a Micro Level Concept?” In
Reason Reclaimed, ed. by
H. Hansen and
R. Pinto, 65–73. Newport News, Virginia: Vale Press.
![Google Scholar](https://benjamins.com/logos/google-scholar.svg)
Montgomery, M
2007 The Discourse of Broadcast News. A Linguistic Approach. London/New York: Routledge.
![DOI logo](https://benjamins.com/logos/doi-logo.svg)
![Google Scholar](https://benjamins.com/logos/google-scholar.svg)
Mulgan, R
2003 Holding Power to Account. Accountability in Modern Democracies. Palgrave Macmillan.
![DOI logo](https://benjamins.com/logos/doi-logo.svg)
![Google Scholar](https://benjamins.com/logos/google-scholar.svg)
Rescher, N
1977 Dialectics. A Controversy-oriented Approach to the Theory of Knowledge. Albany: State Universiy of New York Press.
![Google Scholar](https://benjamins.com/logos/google-scholar.svg)
Rescher, N
2006 Presumption and the Practices of Tentative Cognition. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
![DOI logo](https://benjamins.com/logos/doi-logo.svg)
![Google Scholar](https://benjamins.com/logos/google-scholar.svg)
Walton, D.N
1988 “
Burden of Proof”.
Argumentation 21: 233–254.
![DOI logo](https://benjamins.com/logos/doi-logo.svg)
![Google Scholar](https://benjamins.com/logos/google-scholar.svg)
Cited by (2)
Cited by 2 other publications
Alimdjanov, A. A. & T. P. Tretyakova
2020.
Speaking of the Genre Types of USA Institutional Political Discourse.
Discourse 5:6
► pp. 144 ff.
![DOI logo](//benjamins.com/logos/doi-logo.svg)
This list is based on CrossRef data as of 4 july 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.