A Critical Discourse Analysis of Manipulation and Control in Pakistani Political Rhetoric
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.13839064Keywords:
Critical Discourse Analysis (CDA), political rhetoric, Pakistani politicians, manipulation, control, Fairclough, nationalism, religious discourseAbstract
This study that investigates how Pakistani politicians use language to manipulate and control public opinion. It explains that political speeches are carefully crafted to spread ideologies, consolidate power, and influence how the public thinks and reacts. The study uses Norman Fairclough’s three-dimensional model of Critical Discourse Analysis (CDA) as a framework to examine these speeches. This model looks at how language is used to create meaning, how that meaning is spread, and how it affects society. Key areas of focus in the analysis are themes like nationalism (fostering loyalty to the country), religious discourse (using religious references to gain support), and the construction of the "other" (creating an enemy or outsider to unite the public). The study also examines how politicians use ambiguity (vagueness or unclear language), repetition, and slogans to manipulate emotions and opinions. Ultimately, the study finds that political discourse in Pakistan is deliberately designed to shape how people perceive political issues and maintain the politician’s hold on power.
References
Baxter, J. (2010). Discourse-analytic approaches to text and talk. In L. Litosseliti (Ed.), Research methods in linguistics(pp. 117-137). Continuum.
Bennett, W. L. (2016). News: The politics of illusion (10th ed.). University of Chicago Press.
Carbaugh, D. (2007). Cultural discourse analysis: Communication practices and intercultural encounters. Journal of Intercultural Communication Research, 36(3), 167-182. https://doi.org/10.1080/17475750701478613
Chapp, C. B. (2012). Religious rhetoric and American politics: The endurance of civil religion in electoral campaigns. Cornell University Press.
David, M. K. (2014). Language, power and manipulation: The use of rhetoric in maintaining political influence. Frontiers of Language and Teaching, 5(1), 164-170.
Durrani, N., & Dunne, M. (2010). Curriculum and national identity: Exploring the links between religion and nation in Pakistan. Journal of Curriculum Studies, 42(2), 215-240. https://doi.org/10.1080/00220270903312208
Fairclough, N. (2003). Analysing discourse: Textual analysis for social research. Routledge.
Geis, M. L. (2012). The language of politics. Springer.
Jalal, A. (2014). The struggle for Pakistan: A Muslim homeland and global politics. Harvard University Press.
Janks, H. (1997). Critical discourse analysis as a research tool. Discourse: Studies in the Cultural Politics of Education, 18(3), 329-342. https://doi.org/10.1080/0159630970180302
Korn, J. H. (1997). Illusions of reality: A history of deception in social psychology. SUNY Press.
Kress, G. (1990). Critical discourse analysis. Annual Review of Applied Linguistics, 11, 84-99. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0267190500001975
Martin, J. (2013). Politics and rhetoric: A critical introduction. Routledge.
Rasool, M. M. U., Naeem, A., & Rehman, A. S. U. (2024). An analysis of discursive manipulative strategies and rhetorical devices in political interviews of ousted Prime Minister Imran Khan. Pakistan Languages and Humanities Review, 8(1), 46-59.
Simpson, P., & Mayr, A. (2009). Language and power: A resource book for students. Routledge.
Toor, S. (2005). A national culture for Pakistan: The political economy of a debate. Inter-Asia Cultural Studies, 6(3), 318-340. https://doi.org/10.1080/14649370500170045
Ulinnuha, R., Udasmoro, W., & Wijaya, Y. (2013). Critical discourse analysis theory and method in social and literary framework. Indonesian Journal of Applied Linguistics, 2(2), 262-274. https://doi.org/10.17509/ijal.v2i2.166
Van Dijk, T. A. (2015). Critical discourse analysis. In D. Tannen, H. E. Hamilton, & D. Schiffrin (Eds.), The handbook of discourse analysis (2nd ed., pp. 466-485). Wiley-Blackwell.
Waugh, L. R., Catalano, T., Masaeed, K. A., Hong Do, T., & Renigar, P. G. (2016). Critical discourse analysis: Definition, approaches, relation to pragmatics, critique, and trends. In A. Capone & J. L. Mey (Eds.), Interdisciplinary studies in pragmatics, culture and society (pp. 71-135). Springer. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-12616-6_4
Downloads
Published
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2024 Muhammad Haseeb Nawaz, Hira Munir, Faiza Afzal, Beenish Anwar, Muhammad Umair
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.