The Poetics of Politics: 'Theirs' and 'Ours'

Events of political communication define issues and create spaces of action that position people with respect to them. How? Political talk is not effective in these ways just because it describes the world--as it is or as it might be. In various ways, effective talk in political events forms a diagrammatic microcosm of its targeted field of action, linking events of political process in which it thrives with varying degrees of compelling effectiveness. Political talk of the "factional" politics of Indo-Fijians draws on principles we can see--and discerning participants can hear!--as well in our own agonistic electoral politics of recognition.