THE RHETORICAL FOUNDATIONS OF POLITICAL SCIENCE: IDEAS, PERSUASION, AND ARGUMENT
Abstract
This paper reinterprets the role of ideas in political science through the lens of rhetorical political analysis. It argues that political science has often treated ideas as secondary to material or institutional factors, overlooking their persuasive and performative functions in political practice. Drawing upon rhetorical theory, discourse analysis, and constructivist perspectives, the study emphasizes that political ideas are not merely cognitive entities but rhetorical acts—forms of argumentation, justification, and persuasion embedded in communicative processes. Through a critical review of ideational approaches in political science and linguistic methodologies, this paper proposes a rhetorical framework that views political ideas as strategic, dynamic, and creative. Such an approach repositions rhetoric from a peripheral discipline to a central analytical tool for understanding how political actors construct meanings, mobilize support, and shape governance through language and persuasion.
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