Visualization and its role in the modern political discourse (by the example of the Russian and Austrian political discourse)

Political discourse is communication in the political sphere in which citizens obtain ideas about “politically correct, right” decisions. Verbal and non-verbal (visual) signs are becoming a means of transmitting information in social communication. Modern political discourse aims for visualization which directly relates to the global turn of modern mass communication from the speech code to the image. Here, a special role plays a visual representation as a reproduction of what a person has seen, heard, and felt with the help of visual images. Image is becoming the main way to disseminate and receive information. The main method for studying the visualization of political discourse is the discourse analysis since the author of the study is primarily interested in the mechanisms of meaning generation in the process of visual communication, as well as the role of each of the actors in this process. An analysis of the role of visualization in Russian and Austrian political discourse shows that the visual space in Russian political discourse is an ideological sphere where the viewer acquires the role of a passive observer. In the Austrian political discourse, the visual component emphasizes the democratic traditions of Austrian political communication and represents a sphere of ideas where every citizen is an active participant.