Agonality as a prototypical feature of courtroom discoursive practices

The article deals with agonality as a prototypical feature of courtroom discourse. It argues that agonality as a struggle for power is one of the elements of culture. It is an immanent feature of any human activity. The author describes the judicial process in Ancient Greece and Rome, and pays attention to the agonal nature of the Russian judicial system. The article identifies and analyzes three types of agonality: dispute, confrontation, and game. The article concludes that agonality as a prototypical feature of courtroom communication has peculiarities determined by the objective nature of courtroom discoursive practices. It does not depend on courtroom participants. Transcripts of courtroom proceedings available on the Internet and transcripts of the Russian courtroom TV show “Sud prisyazhnykh” (“The Jury Trial”) are used for the research purposes.