西方修辞视角下中国在国际论坛中的外交论辩策略探究

A Rhetorical Analysis of China’s Diplomatic Argumentative Strategies in International Forums

国际论坛的举办是为了给多方提供一个以解决分歧、达成共识为主要目标的外交场合,论辩是达成上述目标的重要手段。然而国际论坛中的论辩交流有时会因论辩者对各自价值观与意识形态的执著而转变为纯粹地只是对己方观点、立场的强调与对对方观点、立场的驳斥,偏离了国际论坛的应有之义。从修辞视角看,为了避免上述偏差,论辩者应该明确受众——将其与论敌区分开来,明确论辩目标——获得受众的信奉而非驳斥论敌观点,并采用受众接受而非只有论辩者自己接受的前提来展开论辩。但不可否认的是,当国际论坛中的受众与论敌共有的价值观与意识形态与论辩者的不尽相同时,论辩者想要说服受众的难度会增大。不过从跨文化与意识形态的修辞视角来看,论辩者依然可通过充分挖掘受众与论敌所处的社群内部中的话语异质性,通过策略性地与一些立场结盟来反对另外的立场,进而说服受众。作为中国软实力重要组成部分的外交话语,如能借鉴西方修辞对论辩的洞见,或可提升其在国际论坛论辩中的说服力。

International forums serve as diplomatic platforms where multiple parties can resolve differences and achieve consensus by virtue of argumentation.Nevertheless,sometimes it seems inevitable for the argumentative communication in these forums to be reduced to the mere assertion of one’s own opinion and stance and the rejection of those of the others given the commitment of the diplomatic arguers to their respective values and ideologies.This is nothing but a deviation from the purpose of the international forums.Rhetorically speaking,to avoid this deviation,the arguer should be able to tell his audience from his opponent,stay focused on his argumentative goal which is to secure the adherence of the audience rather than debunk the opinion of the opponent,and argue from the premises accepted by the audience rather than from his own.There is no denying that when the opponent and the audience share the same values and ideologies,the arguer will find it more difficult to convince his audience at the international forum.However,from the cross-cultural and cross-ideological rhetorical perspective,the arguer can still win over his audience by exploiting the subtle differences between his audience and his opponent,and strategically ally with some stances in order to argue against other ones.As an essential component of Chinese soft power,the argumentative persuasiveness of China’s diplomatic discourse in international forums may be boosted if it follows the rhetorical insights into argumentation.