ABSTRACT
This chapter presents definitions of dialogue. Three perspectives are chosen: 1) dialogue as communication between persons in a restricted view (micro) focused on situated interactions, and a broad view (macro), which extends the scope to social and ideological problems; 2) dialogue as a condition for democracy, in a normative and utopian view as in most current critical discourse studies; and 3) as a populist macro-strategy that conceives the leader as benefactor of the people, which has support in political studies on populism. The notions of affectivity and affective bonding are introduced as fundamental in populist discourse, and examples are given. It is argued that these notions are as relevant as deliberation and argumentation in political discourse. Types of affectivity and the parameters for evaluating affective bonding are presented with examples. The general features of Hugo Chávez’s populist discourse are presented and compared with Donal Trump’s style. It is argued that doing dialogue analysis goes beyond personal styles as political change must take into account history and political events in each culture. The chapter serves as introduction to Chapter 2.
