A CRITICAL DISCOURSE ANALYSIS OF HUMANITARIAN AND POLITICAL LEGITIMIZATION IN MEDIA COVERAGE ON GAZA CONFLICT

Abstract

This study applied critical discourse analysis to analyze the humanitarian discourse and legitimization of Gaza crisis in the coverage of western and Arab print media. The paper was conducted discourse analysis to explore the socio-political and historical context of the issue and the way the stories are used to represent the politics of power. The sociocognitive theory by Van Dijk and postcolonial theory by Said (1978) were applied as theoretical framework. Critical Discourse Analysis (CDA) was used to examine language patterns, lexical, syntactic, metaphorical, and framing that tended to uphold narratives and assess ideological position as expressed in these newspapers. The research methodology was qualitative, which focused on news headlines in The New York Times, The Guardian, Al Jazeera Arabic, and Asharq Al Awsat throughout the Gaza crisis in 2021. The manifestation of headlines was specifically selected by referring to various sources in order to provide various points of view. The paper has investigated the connection between the language and power and how these two interrelated factors affect the formation of the audience response. The study revealed that the Israeli military activities tend to be securitized by the western media, which uses institutional sources and justifies the methods which align with geopolitical alliances or the dominant discourses. Palestinian terrorists and irrationality is promoted by Western media whereas Arab media focuses on injustice, suffering, and resistance through cultural and historical contradictions. This study giving an informed approach on how media discourses can either support or challenge global power relations in wars.