Politics, Media and Campaign Language

An original, groundbreaking analysis of the story of Australian identity and politics.

Politics, Media and Campaign Language is an original, groundbreaking analysis of the story of Australian identity, told in Australian election campaign language. Stephanie Brookes argues that the story of Australian identity is characterised by recurring cycles of anxiety and reassurance, which betray a deep underlying feeling of insecurity. Introducing the concept of 'identity security', the book focuses on electoral language and demonstrates that election campaigns provide a valuable window into an overlooked part of Australia's political and cultural history. Politics, Media and Campaign Language reclaims Australian campaign speech and electoral history to tell the story of changing national values and priorities, and traces the contours of collective conversations about national identity.