ABSTRACT
This chapter analyses examples of performativity in print media, internationally and domestically, with a focus on reports about Prime Minister Narendra Modi's September 2014 visit to United States from before, during and after visit. In multiple ways, the performance of the visit was constructed as national redefinition for India and personal redefinition for Prime Minister Modi. The idea of performativity theory, as used, draws from Judith Butler, who points to the power of repetitive discursive practices in forming and reinforcing identity. When examining a specific set of public events, appearances, performances and speeches, identity should be connected to broader political discourses and practices because agents have a limited vocabulary and ability to move and must work within a range of possible symbols, narratives, discourses and shared cultural meanings. Another concept that is essential to a presidential political performance is that of the image and its role in being both a part of the political presence and a representation of it.
