Sarcasm and Irony as a Political Weapon

The chapter investigates the use of sarcasm and irony at the time of on-going political and social crisis in Ukraine. It analyzes examples collected on popular Russian and Ukrainian social networks in 2014 that stood out as especially creative, original, or successful in achieving their communicative goals. Ironic statements are usually characterized by pretence and by echoing (lexical, genre, and conceptual) and display the speaker's dissociative attitude to the opinions or evaluations expressed in the utterance. Sarcasm and irony present several benefits for those who employ it, such as increased memorability and creation of the self-image as a witty person knowledgeable about the current events. Sarcasm and irony are used both to mock and offend the opponents by exposing their viewpoints unworthy of an earnest response and to strengthen in-group bonding through expressing the shared opinions. Despite the fact that sarcasm and irony are indirect modes of communication, in many cases they appear to be more effective than straightforward messages.