Routledge Handbook of Character Assassination and Reputation Management

Eric Shiraev editor Jennifer Keohane editor Martijn Icks editor Sergei A Samoilenko editor

Format:Paperback

Publisher:Taylor & Francis Ltd

Published:2nd Aug '21

Currently unavailable, and unfortunately no date known when it will be back

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Routledge Handbook of Character Assassination and Reputation Management cover

In modern politics as well as in historical times, character attacks abound. Words and images, like symbolic and psychological weapons, have sullied or destroyed numerous reputations. People mobilize significant material and psychological resources to defend themselves against such attacks. How does character assassination "work," and when does it not? Why do many targets fall so easily when they are under character attack? How can one prevent attacks and defend against them?

The Routledge Handbook of Character Assassination and Reputation Management offers the first comprehensive examination of character assassination. Moving beyond studying corporate reputation management and how public figures enact and maintain their reputation, this lively volume offers a framework and cases to help understand, critically analyze, and effectively defend against such attacks. Written by an international and interdisciplinary team of experts, the book begins with a theoretical introduction and extensive description of the "five pillars" of character assassination: (1) the attacker, (2) the target, (3) the media, (4) the public, and (5) the context. The remaining chapters present engaging case studies suitable for class discussion. These include:



  • Roman emperors;


  • Reformation propaganda;


  • the Founding Fathers;


  • defamation in US politics;


  • women politicians;


  • autocratic regimes;


  • European leaders;


  • celebrities;


  • nations;


  • Internet campaigns.

This handbook will prove invaluable to undergraduate and postgraduate students in communication, political science, history, sociology, and psychology departments. It will also help researchers become independent, critical, and informed thinkers capable of avoiding the pressure and manipulations of the media.

"Character assassination is poisoning our civil discourse. The editors have created a book that is essential reading for citizens who must learn how to tell truth from fiction. This book will help guide us on how to handle this issue in the future."

Donna Brazile, Democratic Strategist, Former Chairwoman, Democratic National Committee and Adjunct Professor, Georgetown University

"This book is an excellent educational and scientifically sound guide to studying character assassination and reputation management. The team of editors gathered research, insights, and a wide range of cases from prominent scholars across the world."

Nancy Snow, Professor Emeritus at California State University, Fullerton and Pax Mundi Professor of Public Diplomacy at Kyoto University of Foreign Studies, Japan

"This book is an extremely valuable resource tool that provides a wealth of valuable data, theory, and analysis illustrating how personal attack arguments work as powerful public relations tools in many fields and settings."

Douglas Walton, Distinguished Research Fellow of the Centre for Research in Reasoning, Argumentation and Rhetoric, University of Windsor

"This handbookis a testimony of how common the information misuse has become, greatly assisted by cyber-possibilities and the increasingly un-governable societies."

Alena Ledeneva, Professor of Politics and Society, University College London, Founder of the UCL Global Informality Project

"Most Handbooks are dutiful efforts to cover well-known fields, with deference to the major figures and ideas. The best, in contrast, help to define emerging fields, providing theory, language, exemplary cases, and methods for studying an aspect of reality that has previously been out of sight. The Routledge Handbook of Character Assassination and Reputation Management is in the latter category, putting the topic of character assassination (CA) firmly on the intellectual map through its diverse, sweeping, and often entertaining essays."

Journal of Applied Social Theory

ISBN: 9781032081779

Dimensions: unknown

Weight: 800g

454 pages