The term dogwhistle, meaning a political message with a hidden or coded meaning, only entered mainstream usage in the mid-1990s, but today it seems to be everywhere. Accusations of dogwhistling fly in every political direction, and the meaning of the term has broadened to encompass an ever-expanding range of words, images, actions and objects.

This book investigates the rise of the dogwhistle as a key cultural and political reference point, arguing that it’s a sign of our political times. It’s related both to the polarized nature of politics in the era of populism, culture wars and online echo-chambers, and to the preoccupation of radical activists on both sides of the traditional left/right divide with controlling language as a way of remaking culture. Their political aims are different, but their tactics are more similar than they might appear.

As well as examining how these tactics have recently been used and looking at the arguments they now regularly prompt in public settings from social media to courts of law, this book by linguist Deborah Cameron considers some of the theoretical questions they raise about the way communication works and the effects it is capable of producing. It asks why contemporary radical movements put so much emphasis on words and symbols—and whether their faith in the power of language is justified.