Political Communications, Networks, and Textual Evidence

This chapter proposes a method for the comparative analysis of political communications which is potentially applicable to different languages, cultures and political structures. Political communications are defined not in relation to culturally pre-determined categories of relationships (allies, clients, friends, etc.), but as individual interactions or transactions between actors which have specific functions at specific times. The concept of ‘communicative function’ is proposed as the basis for the profiling of relationships, which is in turn the basis for a culturally neutral comparative analysis of political communications. Examples are given of the application of this methodology to a number of Western medieval letter collections, an important source of evidence for political communications and networks, along with suggestions for future directions of research.