discursive politics and the role of politicians I

Politics is a discursive process. At its heart the process consists of actors in the political system who take up problems/ issues, which are dealt with in other subsystems such as the economy, and frame it as a political problem. In doing so, a political debate is launched in which the political problem is discussed, or to be more precise, solutions for the political problem are discussed. Since a politician can only to a certain extend control the progress of such a debate, and is most probably not an expert, who can propose a solution for the problem, taking part in the debate is a politicians main interest. Given his role in determine the political systems response to the political problem the primary concern of taking part in the debate is worrying for anyone who is affected by the societal problems implication and would like to have it fixed asap. This is all the more relevant if we take into account the fact that there are usually more than one proposed solutions to a political problem. Each of the solutions might be favoured by different actors who may or may not themselves take part in the political debate.

Recap:

• Politicians frame political problems in order to debate a solution
• A politicians main concern is to take part in such a debate
• Affected actors would like the problem solved
• There are more than one solutions to a given problem, and those solutions have different effects for actors
• Politicians are in charge of choosing a solution