The Positive-self and Negative-other Representation in Bashar Al-Assad’s First Political Speech After the Syrian Uprising

Abstract

This study examines Positive-self and Negative-other representation expressed in the Syrian president Bashar Al-Assad’s first political speech in March 2011. This study investigates the way Al-Assad uses language as a tool to express his ideology and attitudes towards protests and the world’s leading countries, and thus to win conflicts and gain power. Therefore, this study scrutinises the negative-other representation of Al-Assad’s opponents and rival parties and what ideologies are reflected in this speech. It also examines the positive-self representation in relation to Al-Assad’s ruling party (Ba’ath) and the Syrian regime’s supporters. T. van Dijk (2002) Critical Discourse Analysis (CDA) is utilised to highlight the way these representations are exhibited in the speech. An in-depth analysis is conducted to allow the identification of the strategies and techniques used in the speech analysed, following T. van Dijk (2002)ideological square.