Synopsis
Our research aims, first of all, at reviewing the mathematical methods and computer science tools used by specialists in political science. The mathematical models and computerized systems are useful both to the political science researcher and the politician. Various problems of political science can be solved by making use of different mathematical, linguistic or computerized models. Secondly, our research aims at designing new and original methodological tools to facilitate a thorough and impartial analysis of any electoral campaign for local elections. We introduce the concepts of accord between political discourses, from three perspectives: themes, solutions, and political values. Also, we use graph theory for analyzing political discourses. Some problems (like minimal spanning tree or Hamiltonian cycle) will help us to analyze the political discourse. Also, graph theory can be a useful mathematical tool in analyzing the electoral platforms or political discourses, highlighting nuclei of interest and links between topics.
From the Author
Our research aims, first of all, at reviewing the mathematical methods and
computer science tools used by specialists in political science. Secondly, it aims at
designing new and original methodological tools to facilitate a thorough and impartial
analysis of any electoral campaign for local elections.
Nowadays, political science research has come to increasingly rely on formal
and quantitative methods. The scientists in political science can be helped by having
a solid foundation in the underlying mathematical concepts. Such scientists do better
research in political science, based on formal methods. Several political scientists are
specialized in studying the discourses of candidates and political platforms of their
parties.
Although some candidates going in for an election race occupy very high
positions in the opinion polls, their situation might change throughout the campaign.
During the election race, they may be overtaken by other competitors with a lower
level of notoriety but with higher credibility, a more persuasive electoral programme,
a more active and efficient campaign team that have found the appropriate ways to
send the messages to prospective voters.
The first chapter reviews several existing mathematical tools used in analyzing
political discourses.
In the second chapter, we intend to build a new mathematical model that may
allow us to approach the election campaign in terms of the discursive manifestations
of the political actors involved in it. In this chapter, we have defined and presented
the term of accord between the political doctrine of a party and the electoral
programme of the candidate supported by the respective party as variables that may
shape the electoral course of a political actor. As a research method for discourses,
we have used the content analysis and for this we have adjusted a coding grid of the
domains or sub-domains which political / electoral programmes refer to: foreign policy,
freedom and democracy, political system, economy, prosperity and life quality,
structure of society, classes, groups and social categories.
The accord between the discourse of the party and that of the candidate may be
approached from three perspectives: thematic, actional and axiological. From a
thematic (problematic) perspective, we shall insist upon the extent to which the
approached topics, terms and concepts that define the candidate's discourse can also
be found in the discourse of his party. In terms of action (solutions), we are interested
in the extent to which the same solutions to the same types of problems may be found
in the two discourses. Axiologically speaking, we shall insist upon the common
values promoted in the discourses of candidates and parties involved in the electoral
race.
For better formality, we have calculated the values of two function of thematic
particularization and of actional (solution) particularization for each party and its
candidate. In order to calculate the actional accord, we have identified the political
values from the two types of programmes / discourses (freedom, equality, justice,
personal initiative, ownership, lawfulness, constitutional state, tolerance, solidarity,
responsibility, globalization, European integration, ecology). Thus, we have
identified three sets of values: values shared by the party and the candidate; party
values; candidate values. As in the case of thematic or actional accord, we have
calculated a factor of axiological accord, by relating the number of shared elements
to the number of the elements in the two sets, that is, the number of values promoted
by both sides to the number of values promoted by the party, respectively, by the
candidate. Thus, we have an axiological acciord (accord in terms of the candidate or
in terms of the party).
According to the topics, solutions and values conveyed in his/ her speeches, we
believe that the accord or disaccord between these and the themes, solutions and
values of the party are an indicator of electoral success of a candidate.
In the last chapter, we have designed the structure of a software program that
we have called Political Analyst, a program that analyses political discourses by
using the graph theory. We believe that this program may help us establish:
a) which is the dominant value within a political discourse;
b) which are the groups of values that are interrelated and those that are not;
c) which should be the order in which to present political values, so as to
obtain a speech equivalent to the given one, but much more synthetic;
d) which are the connections among values that form the "nucleus" of the
political discourse.
With the help of this program, we have analyzed, as example, the programme
of the National Liberal Party from Romania, 2004. Analyzing political speeches by
means of graphs may constitute, in this case, a mathematical tool that may help to
systematize party programmes, to highlight interest centers as well as possible
connections among the approached topics. The proposed mathematical model may be
used to analyze any political programme of a party or candidate.
"About this title" may belong to another edition of this title.
