Politicians, Personal Image and the Construction of Political Identity: A Comparative Study of the UK and Italy

117 Pages·2014·0.75 MB·English

by  Cristina Archetti (auth.)

Politicians, Personal Image and the Construction
of Political Identity
DOI: 10.1057/9781137353429.0001
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DOI: 10.1057/9781137353429.0001
Politicians,
Personal Image and
the Construction of
Political Identity:
A Comparative Study
of the UK and Italy
Cristina Archetti
University of Salford, UK
DOI: 10.1057/9781137353429.0001
© Cristina Archetti 2014
Softcover reprint of the hardcover 1st edition 20144#/oooo
All rights reserved. No reproduction, copy or transmission of this
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Safron House, 6–10 Kirby Street, London EC1N 8TS.
Any person who does any unauthorized act in relation to this publication
may be liable to criminal prosecution and civil claims for damages.
Te author has asserted her right to be identifed as the author of this work
in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.
First published 2014 by
PALGRAVE MACMILLAN
Palgrave Macmillan in the UK is an imprint of Macmillan Publishers Limited,
registered in England, company number 785998, of Houndmills, Basingstoke,
Hampshire RG21 6XS.
Palgrave Macmillan in the US is a division of St Martin’s Press LLC,
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ISBN 6968-0 ISBN (eBook)
DOI
A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library.
A catalog record for this book is available from the Library of Congress.
www.palgrave.com/pivot
To all guerrilla researchers who follow their questions
wherever they might lead, no matter what.
DOI: 10.1057/9781137353429.0001
Contents
Acknowledgements vi
Introduction 
 I mage in Political Communication:
Obscure Areas and Troubling Assumptions 
 Methodology 
 A New Framework for Analysis 
 Findings 
 A Diferent Understanding of the
Mediatization of Politics 
 Conclusions 
Apendix 
Bibliography 
Index 
vi DOI: 10.1057/9781137353429.0001
Acknowledgements
I would like to thank Robin Brown (as always), the
anonymous reviewer, and Alexa Robertson for the helpful
comments on an earlier draf of this manuscript. I am also
indebted to Anna Catalani, with whom I have discussed
the initial ideas of this project.
I am deeply grateful to all interviewees for having been
so enthusiastically helpful and so generous with their time
despite their hectic schedules.
DOI: 10.1057/9781137353429.0002 vii
Introduction
Abstract: In an image-obsessed media age, the notion that
the way a politician “looks” is important might appear
almost obvious. Yet, the amount of anecdotal evidence
about the relevance of personal image and self-presentation
in politics is not matched by a comparable volume of
rigorous academic research. Tis section outlines the
rationale for the study presented in this book and the
contributions it makes to our understanding of political
communication in the twenty-frst century.
Keywords: appearance; guerrilla research; mediatization
of politics; presentation; role of image in politics
Archetti, Cristina, Politicians, Personal Image and the
Construction of Political Identity: A Comparative Study of the
UK and Italy. Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan, 2014.
doi: 10.1057/9781137353429.0003.
DOI: 10.1057/9781137353429.0003 