Strategic Maneuvering in Presidential Debates. The case of Traian Basescu vs Mircea Geoana

Abstract

The purpose of this paper is to look at how language in discourse can be used strategically by the speakers in the construction of arguments. This particular research was conducted on a mediated presidential debate and focused on identifying how political figures can make use of different strategies and communicative competences in order to protect or advance their standpoints. Contextualizing the confrontational stage of a particular political discourse and looking at how speakers successfully and unsuccessfully employ strategic maneuvering when accused of inconsistency, are key elements of the current research.