TOPOS OF HESITANT POLITICIANS IN GERMAN POLITICAL DISCOURSE

Abstract

In this article, the topos of hesitating politicians in the German-language media was investigated using the argumentation analysis method. Topos analysis is widely used in modern political linguistic research and has its philosophical roots in ancient rhetoric. The method of topos analysis has been applied in German linguistics by M. Kienpointner, S. Korperschmitt, M. Funken, K. Faulstich, M. Wengeler and others. The German linguist M. Wengeler has theoretically justified and empirically proven topos analysis. This procedure is focused on the so-called figures of thought, which are derived from the text corpus with the help of logically coherent steps and reveal the position of individual political actors with regard to the solution/non-solution of a particular political problem. According to M. Wengeler, we understand topoi to be rules of inference in the argumentation process that are filled with content but at the same time have a sufficiently high degree of abstraction. Topos analysis involves researching implicit meanings that reveal causal relationships in the text corpus. They are formulated in the form of “if-then statements”. Based on the German press for the period from 24.02.2022 to February 2025, the following formal argumentation patterns were identified: the turning point topos, the pressure topos, the topos of Germany’s leadership, the ring swap topos, the goal topos, etc. The topoi analyzed by the study show the attitude of German politicians and the German people towards the delivery of weapons to Ukraine, which is supported by pro and contra arguments. Topoi, as thought structures, reveal the key meanings of the «Waffenlieferung» concept on the basis of text fragments and establish associative links with political, military, social, public, moral, and religious contexts. The keyword “arms delivery” takes on a new meaning in the context of the Russian-Ukrainian war.