4.2.1 Political oxymorons
Course subject(s)
Module 4. Creating a dilemma: convincing stakeholders
At the end of the clip, there are examples of politicians presenting themselves as someone who transcends a dilemma.
Someone who transcends a dilemma often creates an oxymoron. An oxymoron is a concept in which two opposing ideas are brought together. Examples:
- ‘organised chaos’
- ‘serious joke’
- ‘leading from behind’
These are some examples of political oxymorons:
| George W Bush, US president | Compassionate Conservative |
| Dmitry Rogozin, deputy prime minister of Russia | Hawk of Peace |
| Bavaria, German state | Laptop and Lederhose |
| David Cameron, UK prime minister | Muscular liberalism |
| Rand Paul, US Senator | Libertarian conservative |
| Your suggestion | Your suggestion |
Add some more! Name a politician from your country and give an oxymoron used by him/her or others to characterise him/her. Post your example below.
Also bear in mind that whether something is an oxymoron also depends on your political stance. Take the term ‘government intelligence’ – for many, it is simply a neutral term, but for someone who is strongly anti-government, it may be an oxymoron: government and intelligence are contradictory – governments cannot be intelligent.
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Based on a work at https://online-learning.tudelft.nl/courses/communicating-effectively-how-to-inspire-and-convince/.