Power and Discourse: A Critical Analysis of Israel's Ambassador's UN Speech
Keywords:
ideology, us and them, critical discourse, conflict, Ideological SquareAbstract
Ideologies present mental frameworks that shape how group of people understand their environment and propose organization. These frameworks often lead to significant differences among leaders, which can cause international conflicts. Leaders frequently assume the worst about each other's intentions, viewing one another as threats to domestic safety. In efforts to guard their interests, leaders may attempt to export their ideological beliefs to other nations. Central to critical discourse analysis is the 'self-other' schema, which highlights the binary opposition of 'us versus them.' This concept fosters positive self-presentation and negative other-representation, reinforcing ideological attitudes. A prominent model within this framework is Van Dijk's Ideological Square, which this study follows to analyze the speech delivered by Israel's ambassador during the UN Security Council meeting on the Israel-Hamas conflict. The ambassador's address employs an 'us versus them' discourse, emphasizing polarization to delineate identities between 'us' (the Jewish people, Israel, and its allies) and 'them' (perceived adversaries, such as Hamas, the UN, and anti-Semitic sympathizers). This analysis aims to discover the rhetorical strategies that construct these opposing identities and perpetuate ideological divides.
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