Mzee Kabila's Political Promises

Why do people fall for promises, especially political ones? Why do voters clamor for promises during election campaigns? Why do politicians always use promises in their speeches? Does political communication in the digital age still boil down to propagandistic promises? Why do people continue to believe in promises, despite the hopes they raised and then dashed? Is it still possible to make political promises today in the face of receivers who have become very active and resistant? Do promises as illocutionary acts constitute persuasive devices? Did President Kabila use promises to legitimize his power? Do political promises still constitute effective political communication? This book, divided into four chapters, answers these questions and proposes a new strategy for political communication as a negotiation with the public.