Debasing Political Rhetoric: Dissing Opponents, Journalists, and Minorities in Populist Leadership Communication

Ofer Feldman is Professor of Political Psychology and Behavior at the Faculty of Policy Studies, Doshisha University, Kyoto, Japan. His research centers on the psychological underpinnings of mass and elite political behavior in Japan, and he has extensively published journal articles and book chapters on issues related to political communication and persuasion, political leadership, and political culture. His books include Talking Politics in Japan Today (2004), The Psychology of Political Communicators (2019, edited with Sonja Zmerli), The Rhetoric of Political Leadership (2020, edited), When Politicians Talk: The Cultural Dynamics of Public Speaking (2021, edited), Politische Psychologie: Handbuch für Studium und Wissenschaft (2022, 2nd updated and expanded edition, edited with Sonja Zmerli), Politicians’ Rhetoric: The Psychology of Words and Facial Expressions (2022, in Japanese, with Ken Kinoshita), Adversarial Political Interviewing: Worldwide Perspectives During Polarized Times (2022, edited), and Political Debasement: Incivility, Contempt, and Humiliation in Parliamentary and Public Discourse (2023, edited). In 2021, he was elected Honorary Chair of the Research Committee on Political Psychology, International Political Science Association.