Strategic ambiguity as a discourse practice: the role of keywords in the discourse on ‘sustainable’ biotechnology

By S. Leitch, Sally Davenport. 2007

103 citations recorded by the source corpus.

In this article we examined the ways in which strategic ambiguity (Eisenberg, 1984) in the use of keywords (Williams, 1976/1983) served an enabling function within a discourse marked by conflict and ideological divisions. Our analysis focused on the intertextual relationships between five documents intended by the government to guide the development of biotechnology in New Zealand. Through our analysis we identified ‘sustainability’ as a keyword and three major roles for the deployment of the discourse strategy of strategic ambiguity in the use of this keyword. First, strategic ambiguity lent an internal and intertextual coherence to the texts (albeit superficial). Second, it allowed multiple perspectives and objectives to co-exist. Third, strategic ambiguity facilitated the participation of discourse actors who subscribed to ideologies that were more or less incommensurable.

Subfields: Experimental and Cognitive Psychology, Literature and Literary Theory, Philosophy

View Paper: https://www.semanticscholar.org/paper/ed6f1f6f859ae97c284176e124733b462ee36c1a

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Citations in the corpus

• Corporate reports on sustainability and sustainable development: ‘We Have Arrived’ (2014, background): “There may be a lot to be said for strategic ambiguity as it can unite participants with incommensurable ideologies in an on‐going debate (Eisenberg, 1984; Leitch and Davenport, 2007).”