Australian political science and the study of discourse

Abstract

This paper argues that the study of political discourse, in its various forms and taking various approaches, has become an increasingly useful aspect of Australian political science. That development, in turn, is related to a ‘discursive shift’, associated with the influence of neo-liberalism, that has taken place in Australian government discourse and that has challenged previous understandings of Australian political thought. As well, the increasing study of political discourse has been influenced by the impact of interdisciplinary approaches such as post-structuralist, postmodernist, feminist, queer, critical theory and postcolonial analyses. Such analyses can generate very useful insights. However, this paper also argues that discursive approaches should be seen as merely supplementing more traditional approaches to the study of politics.