Politically speaking at home and abroad: A typology of message gap strategies

During times of international negotiation, political leaders often play a ‘two-level game’, reflected in disparate message designs aimed at satisfying differing audience expectations. The existence of a two-level game in a globalized media environment results in leaders facing an avoidance dilemma, as presenting distinctly different messages could threaten both credibility and maneuverability. Thus, political leaders employ a series of discursive strategies to reduce message gaps in order to facilitate solidarity at home and an appearance of cooperation abroad. Based on discourse analysis of 368 political speeches in the context of the Israeli–Palestinian conflict, we present a typology of message gap strategies used by Israeli officials. The article discusses six gap strategies and concludes by clarifying their role in conflict resolution processes.