Abstract
This article offers an analysis of statements pronounced by Rodrigo Duterte in an interview produced by Al Jazeera. It shows how Duterte tried to legitimize the extrajudicial killing of more than 3.500 citizens through these statements and rhetoric, a discourse dependent and effective through the metaphor of “war on drugs”, constructing drug dealers and users as threats , enemies to be “legitimately” killed. Drawing on Foucault's Discourse Analysis (1971), it argues that although war on drugs is a metaphor, and not war in the literal or modern sense, it is mobilized within a discursive strategy previous to, during, and after presidential elections; it is a juridical-political discourse on drugs and security that results in confrontations, hunting, punishment, and, in the limit, the exclusion or extermination of declared enemies. It also delineates the electoral context and the historical level of analysis, discussing the role of discourse analysis for critical security studies.
Highlights
This text offers an analysis of statements pronounced by Rodrigo Duterte, current president of the Philippines, in an interview conducted by two journalists of the Al Jazeera Media Network
Through these statements; the rhetoric of drugs, addiction, crimes, and punishment; a political discourse deeply dependent on and effective through the metaphor of war on drugs, Duterte attempted to legitimize the extrajudicial killing of thousands of people in a short period of time
How, under which conditions did the discourse onthe war on drugs” become dominant in the Philippines? What are the singularities of its articulation in Duterte’s statements in an interview globally distributed by Al Jazeera? How is it possible that certain groups demand prohibition and punishment, while others ask for State regulation of the market, provision of health care and harm reduction?
Summary
Resumo: A proposta desse artigo é oferecer uma análise das declarações proferidas pelo atual presidente das Filipinas, Rodrigo Duterte, numa entrevista produzida pelo Al Jazeera. Drawing on Foucault's Discourse Analysis (1971), it argues that war on drugs is a metaphor, and not war in the literal or modern sense, it is mobilized within a discursive strategy previous to, during, and after presidential elections; it is a juridicalpolitical discourse on drugs and security that results in confrontations, hunting, punishment, and, in the limit, the exclusion or extermination of declared enemies. It delineates the electoral context and the historical level of analysis, discussing the role of discourse analysis for critical security studies.
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