Foucault's Discourse Research Articles

Shaping the ‘Other’: Foucauldian Insights Into Feminine Resistance in ‘Timbuktu’

This exploration delves into the complex portrayal of feminine resistance in Abderrahmane Sissako's 2014 film "Timbuktu," framed within a Foucauldian perspective. Set against the backdrop of the jihadist occupation of Timbuktu, Mali, the film immerses viewers in a world where traditional village life collides with extremist ideologies, resulting in a complex interplay of power and resistance. The narrative unfolds with subtle undercurrents of oppression, as the occupying jihadists enforce their rigid interpretation of Sharia law on the local populace. Focusing on the character of Satima, the wife of the protagonist Kidane and Zabou, the shamanes, this analysis delves into different feminine resistance to conformity, driven either by honour or justice to challenge the oppressive norms imposed by the jihadists. Drawing inspiration from Michel Foucault's discourse on power and resistance, this exploration reveals a rather multidirectional/multidimensional nature of feminine resistance. Satima's refusal to comply with the sexual advances of Abdelkerim and Zabou’s enchantments and audacity vis-à-vis the jihadists provide insights into the transformative potential of marginalized voices. The film ultimately confronts the idea that some situations remain beyond an individual's control, echoing an Old Testament-like sense of fate. Through an extraordinary long-take shot that captures the aftermath, the film underscores the limitations of power, even for those who seek to shape the "Other." This article thus invites a deeper examination of "Timbuktu," and feminine empowerment and agency in African cinema, shedding light on how resistance surpasses the confines of oppression, offering a gripping narrative of resilience in the face of extremism.

Environmentalism for Nature to Environmentalism for Profit

This research discusses the discourse related to the mining of andesite stone for the construction of the Bener Dam in Purworejo, Central Java, as part of the National Strategic Project. The discourse constructed among actors is highly diverse. The dominant discourse is led by the government, which views the use of the forest for environmentalism for profit, while local residents see the forest as environmentalism for nature. Michel Foucault's discourse theory on the production of knowledge and power underscores the discourses brought forth by the government, the community, and NGOs. Meanwhile, Anja Nygren's concept of environmental discourse complements the various discourses that have emerged. The objective of this research is to observe the dynamics and discourse constructed by pro and contra actors regarding the construction of the Bener Dam. The research utilizes both primary and secondary data, with primary data obtained through direct interviews with sources such as Indonesian Forum for the Environment of Yogyakarta, Community Movement for Environmental Care in Wadas Village (GEMPADEWA), and Legal Aid Institute of Yogyakarta. The conclusion drawn from this research is that the dominant discourse constructed by the government can influence public opinion, especially through negotiations that lead to mutually beneficial agreements.

"Dadi Lemek Dadi Gandhek" in Javanese Cultural Perspective

This article examines the patriarchal system of Javanese society and its effect on the status of Javanese women. Certain expressions that are still commonly used in Javanese language today can be seen to imply the inferiority of women. This article argues for a re-evaluation of these expressions in the light of gender equality and social justice. The potency of this concept within Javanese culture has led to restrictions perceived as curtailing women's mobility; an example being the practice of segregation, which curbs women's freedom. Hence, this research aims to scrutinise the social significance of "Dadi Lemek Dadi Gandhek" and its relevance to contemporary times. Qualitative and interpretive methods inform this study, with Foucault's discourse theory being the theoretical framework. Qualitative and interpretive methods inform this study, with Foucault's discourse theory being the theoretical framework. The literature review is the primary data collection method. The research findings indicate that Javanese gender roles have transformed with the progression of education and technology. Present-day women possess greater autonomy and freedom to voice their desires, unhindered by conventional boundaries restricting their involvement and advancement in numerous spheres.

Confucian Historical Narratives and Misogynic Culture in South Korea

President Yoon Suk-yeol's campaign for the presidency embraces the anti-feminism movement that has further fueled the misogynistic culture in South Korea. South Korea is quite thick with patriarchy and misogyny because there is a lot of criticism of women, especially feminists. This article analyses the phenomenon of misogynistic culture in South Korea using document-based research and internet-based research techniques. It employs Foucault's discourse of power and the concept of misogyny to analyse the impact of history on misogynist culture in contemporary South Korea. The findings show that as Confucian teachings are the basis of state ideology in South Korea, Korean society believes in the chastity of women. In the Koran history, a negative connotation was given to women who are considered to have damaged the country’s ‘Joseon-ness’ and the standard of femininity in South Korean society. Given South Korea's high level of sexism and low level of female empowerment, the representation of males in dramas as caring and empathetic is unfortunately not representative of the real world. Sexist behaviour in South Korea is founded on Confucian ideology.

German Theoryals Geographie im Konjunktiv, oder: „Was nie geschrieben wurde, lesen“

Abstract. „German Theory“ is a theory that has not yet been written, but could have been. „Theory“ is here understood as a “territory of thought” that transcends the boundaries of its origins, and travels to other sites. „French Theory“, for example, is the label for the travel of French poststructuralism to Anglophone humanities. In this sense, „German Theory“ does not exist (yet), but as this paper will argue, it exists as a potentiality that has not (yet) actualized. To show this potential, this paper turns to the work of Friedrich A. Kittler. To illustrate why Kittler did not become a cornerstone of „German Theory“, and to discuss how it could have been, this paper proceeds in two steps: first, it traces the recent history of the reception of Foucault in German language geography and the humanities. This analysis shows that Kittler and German language geography morphed Foucault's discourse theory into two distinct thought styles – the „discourse school“ in German language geography into a „textual“ one; Kittler into a „materialist“ one. This incompatibility of thought styles, this paper asserts, obstructed the travel of Kittler to Anglophone geography, although Kittler's notion of „materiality of communication“ resonates with the „material turn“ in Anglophone geography. Nor did the Foucault of the „discourse school“ travel to Anglophone geography. Kittler's „German Foucault“ travelled to Anglophone media studies as „German School“, though. In the last part of the paper, I ask the question how Kittler's „German Foucault“ could have travelled to (anglophone) geography and what could have been gained theoretically through this travel.

Comparing Wide Sargasso Sea and Jane Eyre in Foucault's Perspective to Interpret "The Madwoman in the Attic"

Charlotte Bronte portrayed a marginal character in Jane Eyre, Bertha Mason, the madwoman in the attic. Many readers thought she was insane, ugly, and silent at the same time. She emerges from the attic later to recount her forgotten background in Wide Sargasso Sea when Jane Rhys investigates her family history. Whether it is the postmodern writing style or the psychological exploration of the heroine in the novel, it has the artistic research value of various interpretations. The study of Wide Sargasso Sea and Jane Eyre mainly focuses on postcolonial discourse and identity discourse. It is rare to analyze Bertha from the perspective of Foucault's discourse power theory. This essay interprets Bertha and Antoinette's characterizations in terms of the interrelationships of discourse, power, and knowledge based on Foucault's theory of discursive power. It examines the lack of women's discourse and its reconstruction, broadens the viewpoints of Wide Sargasso Sea and Jane Eyre, and deepens our comprehension of The Madwoman in the Attic.

Deconstructing Authority with Humor - The Cultural Adaptation and Reinvention of Women’s Discourse in Stand-Up Comedy of China

This paper explores the adaptation and alienation of Western postmodern approaches to female empowerment in China through an analysis of female discourse in the stand-up comedy industry. I used textual analysis to examine the discourses and audience feedback of female performers in the representative Chinese talk show "Rock & Roast". The results of this paper are divided into two parts: 1. the three main portraits and discourse strategies of female stand-up comedians extracted from their words; and 2. a comparison of public opinion on the acceptance of different female discourses and images in the first part with the audience's evaluation. The findings of the study show that female stand-up comedians are mainly moulded through language into three categories: women in traditional relationships, feminist fighters and highly educated independent women. The audience's feedback suggests that a new system of authoritative judgement between Western thought and traditional Chinese gender values is in the process of being born. In stand-up comedy, a model image of women that demands independence but without touching on gender issues is being promoted as the "most qualified" representation of women's image. The category of female discourse has an underlying premise of male discourse, and thus all talk of female discourse is inextricably bound up with male-centrism. Here, the term discourse is important for all normative forms of human life, in addition to what is commonly thought of as forms of speech. For example, Foucault's discourse of power and Said's theory of postcolonial discourse in the East start from all normative forms in life. When we analyze women's discourse in Chinese communication, we also focus on the normative forms of their lives in addition to words, exploring the crux of the problem from the deep psychological factors of culture, history, and anthropology.Generally speaking, women's discourse in contemporary Chinese communication is often characterized by several problems: misinterpretation, deflection, and pleasing, etc. Even though there are a number of feminist movements in contemporary China, they may not be able to truly and correctly address feminist issues. This does not lie in the strength of male power in China, but in the biased arguments and misperceptions of this issue in women's visions.

Feminilidades e Masculinidades no Cariri Cearence: 'Na Escola não se Fala Sobre Isso!'

The main objective of this research is to problematize discourses about gender, femininities, and masculinities in the school context of Cariri, Ceará, from the students’ perspective. The research included 13 students from state public schools in a municipality in the state of Ceará, who participated in collective interviews conducted via a digital platform. We employed Foucault's discourse analysis to examine the empirical material. The results obtained evidenced the invisibility of sex education at school, as well as gender representations based on the biological and binary order, the non­recognition of multiple femininities, masculinitiesor other gender identities.

Ortnamnspolitiken i svenska Pommern: En diskursanalytisk och kontaktonomastisk studie

The article presents the results of a pilot investigation into the seventeenth-century name policies associated with large-scale cadastral mapping of the Swedish conglomerate state and their implementation in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern. The material studied consists of the Land Survey’s directives issued by the Swedish Crown between 1628 and 1700, as well as 759 place name attestations excerpted from the B I volume of cadastral maps of the Wolgast District from 1694. The article reveals how both practical and symbolic aspects of political discourses are evident in the regulations of place name collection and processing. Particular attention is paid to the Swedification discourse analysed by the tools native to Foucaultian discourse analysis and proximisation theory. The Wolgast material shows that the Swedish land surveyors did not comply with the instructions to Swedify or translate Pomeranian names. The tentative explanation offered builds on the idea of linguistic and cultural proximity between the German-speaking region and the Swedish land surveyors.

Maniac From the Adjacent Canon: How Science Normalizes Cult Evil

This article is devoted to studying cinematic images of serial criminals in a series of relevant topics: those where scientific and quasi-scientific methods, which are in Russian called “profiling”, are used to calculate and catch them. Assuming that cinema and television can change (and shape) a person's ideas about life, norms, about right or wrong, and proper and improper behaviour, the author refers to the comparison of the novel and the series as artistic phenomena with similar specifics of functioning and impact on the public. Further, the author compares the trickster and the maniac (psychopath or sociopath) found in the research literature and shows why this comparison is incorrect. Based on Foucault's discourse theory and his research of the concept of “abnormality”, the author focuses on the history of this concept in science and philosophy. Also, she stresses how the figure of an expert (criminologist, psychiatrist, doctor) arises and is conceptualized along with clarification of characteristics he is researching. Analyzing John Douglas' works, the author concludes that researchers who are now called profilers can be considered “experts” in the sense that Foucault wrote about it. They described the characteristics of a serial killer maniac, well known to us from films and TV shows. In the future, the images of serial criminals were built into account the data of modern science.

Environmental Clashes on Native American Land: Framing Environmental and Scientific Disputes by Cynthia-Lou Coleman

Reviewed by: Environmental Clashes on Native American Land: Framing Environmental and Scientific Disputes by Cynthia-Lou Coleman Sebastian Wurzrainer (bio) Environmental Clashes on Native American Land: Framing Environmental and Scientific Disputes by Cynthia-Lou Coleman Palgrave Macmillan, 2020 AS CYNTHIA-LOU COLEMAN (WAZHAZHE), a professor of communication at Portland State University, observes in Environmental Clashes on Native American Land: Framing Environmental and Scientific Disputes, "Only a handful of communication scholars . . . have examined Native American perspectives" (15). Using a concise, economic writing style, Coleman asserts that communication studies overemphasize how meaning is produced at the expense of considering the systemic inequities in this process, particularly as they relate to mainstream media's disregard for Native American perspectives. Drawing on Jürgen Habermas's notion of the public sphere, Michel Foucault's discussion of power, and William A. Gamson's and André Modigliani's ideas about interpretive packages, she offers a nuanced reading of an eclectic mix of news sources that covered the Kennewick Man and the Dakota Access Pipeline (DAPL) conflicts. She posits that the media constructed a framing for these events by drawing on a history of colonial tropes. For instance, the tribes that protested the mishandling of the Kennewick Man skeleton were regularly framed as "trouble-makers" beholden to "religiosity, myth or invention," recalling racist stereotypes of Indigenous peoples as savage and preindustrial (146–47). None of these insights are novel in the context of Indigenous studies, but that is not necessarily a criticism given that Coleman seeks to intervene in a field that typically overlooks Indigenous peoples. The opening chapters establish the "two prisms" through which Coleman filters the rest of the book: "the Media Hegemony Hypothesis" and "Indigenous Metaphysics" (143). She initially illustrates her premise by exploring the white supremacist pseudoscience of phrenology, specifically as it was applied to Native Americans such as the Sauk warrior Black Hawk. While the entire book is modular, this section—chapters 3 and 4—feels especially disconnected from Coleman's overall argument. She does, however, make a point that resonates across the book by coining the term "sciencing." As she repeatedly demonstrates, the performative "act of doing science" in the public sphere frequently overrules the actual validity of the science being done (37). The book transitions to an examination of the twenty-year conflict [End Page 158] surrounding the remains of Kennewick Man, a nine-thousand-plus-year-old skeleton found in 1996 in Washington State's Columbia River. In chapters 5 and 6, Coleman implies—but does not further explore—that phrenology influenced the anthropologists who initially classified Kennewick Man's skull as "Caucasoid." This classification fueled a fascination among media outlets about the possibility that the original inhabitants of Turtle Island were white. Coleman's most compelling argument is that the tribes who sought to reclaim Kennewick Man's remains soundly rejected the "Who was here first?" framing (74); they were instead concerned with their sovereign right to return their ancestor to the earth in accordance with their traditions. Perhaps more than anywhere else in the book, this highlights Coleman's reference to the media's systemic exclusion of Native worldviews (what she calls "Indigenous Metaphysics"). Coleman turns to the DAPL conflict in chapters 7 and 8, connecting it to three key events in the history of Sioux-settler interactions: the Battle of Greasy Grass, the death of Crazy Horse, and the Wounded Knee Massacre. She presents DAPL as an extension and reflection of this history, but she contends that in this most recent iteration, the Sioux were able to mobilize social media and bypass the hegemonic frameworks propagated by mainstream media. Coleman concludes on a more general note by highlighting how such instances of cultural resilience in a conflict like DAPL create the necessary groundwork for future Indigenous activists. Coleman's use of these prominent examples makes the book an ideal introduction to topics in Indigenous studies for entry-level undergraduates interested in environmental or communication studies. Yet this inevitably leaves ample room for further research. For instance, Coleman never really specifies what she means by "the media," leading to a series of conclusions that are apt but overly broad. She also concedes that "capitalism and colonialism" are...

Foucault Dan Diskursus Media Siber

The availability of cybermedia offers many options that vary for discovering and consuming information similar to the ability to generate it. Cybermedia has also given rise to new methods for people to interact and build relationships in society, posing problems for researchers in the communication study field, particularly in dissecting new kinds of multi-modal communication. The research objective is to learn more about how Michel Foucault's discourse analysis applies to the cybermedia discourse. The findings of this study show that Foucault's notions, as found in The Birth of the Clinic, The Archeology of Knowledge, and Technology of the Self, are still relevant in addressing the difficulties of cybermedia research. The Foucaultian approach to social media focuses on sharing processes, which are the foundation of social media. Another aspect of Foucault's media philosophy is "constant awareness and visibility."

Biopoder y ciudadanía en América latina. Una lectura desde Foucault

In this article, an analysis of Foucault's discourse is carried out to understand the formalization of certain devices that have founded a grammar of domination, expressed in the relationships between power over bodies (Biopower) and the exercise of citizenship. Although the purpose is eminently theoretical, it is intended to achieve a factual approach to the Latin American case, in the understanding that the democracies of the region are beloved daughters of modernity and, in addition, of government schemes that privilege the figure of the citizen as a political actor and historical subject. Methodologically, a critical-hermeneutical analysis is carried out, from which it is a matter of making domination strategies visible and interpreting in Foucault's theory, the discursive establishment of a new societal order, based on the narrative that relates power and citizenship. Study allows us to conclude that Foucaultian theoretical categories reveal power as a set of relations, always in tension, that, in times of change, there is always room to build new rules and regimes of existence.

Women and Politics: Movement and Militance of “EMak-Emak” and “Srikandi” in the General Election 2019

This article is a scientific account of the results of a study entitled Women and Politics: The Movement and Militance of “EMak-Emak” and “Srikandi” in the General Election 2019. The background of the research problem is assessed from the role of women still in the category of the domestic realm, and still leaves a negative assessment of women who carry out activities in the public sphere, including active participation in politics. This type of research used a qualitative research type, namely research procedures that produce descriptive data. Sources of data obtained are primary data and secondary data. The method of data collection was done through interviews and a thorough literature review. The data analysis technique used is a qualitative analysis technique which is then presented descriptively. As for the conceptual and theoretical framework that is in use is the theory used in answering it uses Michel Foucault's discourse theory and the theory of the movement of women. The results of the study concluded that the women's movement in Indonesia in the 2019 elections which were members of the " Emak-Emak" and the “Srikandi” Group had various reasons, namely as evidence of the identity of the women's political participation movement. The characteristics of the women's movement are generally coordinated with a clearly measurable agenda and steps. The impact of this movement changed the mindset of Indonesian society that women are not only in the reproductive but also shows that they are also capable of entering the productive sphere, including the political sphere.

A INFÂNCIA E O FUTURO DA NAÇÃO: A CRIANÇA E A (BIO) POLÍTICA DA ESPERANÇA NA PARAÍBA (1940-1950)

From the magazine of the state commission of the Brazilian Legion of Assistance (LBA), newspapers A União and A Imprensa and other knowledge that circulated in Paraíba in the 1940s and 1950s, the question arises: how the policy of assisting children in LBA mobilized definitions citizenship and historical time to give meaning to a “new time”? Through the theoretical and methodological assumptions of the analysis of Michel Foucault's discourse, it is analyzed how the actions had a technical and political impact, mapping the knowledge on which they were anchored to legitimize forms of childhood government. This social policy was linked to proposals from the National Department of the Child (DNCr) and the International Child Relief Fund (FISI), an agency of the United Nations (UN) that worked in Paraíba with a focus on the issue of the right to food and health childish.

Os memes de Lula na Operação Lava Jato

O objetivo deste artigo é analisar memes sobre a condução coercitiva do ex-presidente Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, em 2016. A fundamentação teórico-metodológica está ancorada na Análise do Discurso de linha foucaultiana. O corpus analisado, memes retirados de três sites noticiosos e de jornais online, desconstroem a imagem de Lula graças às suas filiações a formações discursivas opostas a ele. O campo simbólico das imagens torna-se uma arena para a confrontação ideológica e a disputa de sentidos, no contexto sócio-histórico de crise política instaurada pela Operação Lava Jato. Compreendemos que, no cenário da interatividade e da convergência midiática, o dito e o não dito coexistem na superfície dos memes, construindo significações a partir dos jogos de visibilidade e de invisibilidade das imagens. No movimento discursivo das imagens analisadas, observamos a construção de efeitos derrisórios calcados no corpo do petista.

Educação Matemática e Currículo Escolar: um estudo da matemática praticada no ensino técnico agrícola

Este artigo tem como objetivo discutir a educação matemática praticada na disciplina de matemática e suas articulações com o dispositivo da tecnocientificidade no curso Técnico em Agropecuária do Instituto Federal de Educação, Ciência e Tecnologia do Rio Grande do Sul Campus Sertão (IFRS-Sertão). Os aportes teóricos que lhe dão sustentação encontram-se, principalmente, nas formulações de Michel Foucault e seus comentadores. O material de pesquisa é composto por entrevistas realizadas com recém-formados do IFRS-Sertão, bem como documentos institucionais – projeto pedagógico atual – e materiais escolares desses estudantes. O exercício analítico sobre esse material (realizado na perspectiva da análise do discurso foucaultiano e por meio da abordagem de Storytelling) possibilitou concluir que: a) na atualidade o princípio pedagógico que conduz o currículo da formação do Técnico Agrícola no IFRS-Sertão é o “aprender pela pesquisa’; b) o discurso da educação matemática que opera, na atualidade, no curso Técnico em Agropecuária do IFRS-Sertão pode ser considerado como um dos vetores (mas não o único) que constituem o dispositivo da tecnocientificidade.

A iniciativa do magistrado para produção de provas no processo penal brasileiro conforme um olhar foucaultiano

O presente trabalho consiste em um estudo da construção do princípio da verdade real no processo penal brasileiro e suas implicações quanto a legitimidade ativa do magistrado na produção probatória, mediante o marco teórico das práticas sociais e do controle do discurso foucaultiano. A problemática da pesquisa surgiu com a constatação de que, após a promulgação da Constituição da República Federativa do Brasil de 1988, o atual Código de Processo Penal não passou por significativas reformas, persistindo as normas que dispõem sobre os poderes probatórios do juiz na persecução penal. O método utilizado é o indutivo. Por fim, tem-se que, a partir de um olhar foucaultiano, na realidade o discurso da busca por uma verdade real é uma estratégia conveniente às instituições que detêm a jurisdição penal, pois representa interesses escusos aos das partes e às finalidades das garantias e direitos fundamentais insculpidos na Constituição Federal de 1988.

Gestures of Control

Gestures of Control1 Aaron Jaffe (bio) [I]n the societies of control one is never finished with anything—the corporation, the educational system, the armed services being metastable states coexisting in one and the same modulation, like a universal system of deformation. —Gilles Deleuze (1992, 5) Control is not discipline. You do not confine people with a highway. But by making highways, you multiply the means of control. I am not saying this is the only aim of highways, but people can travel infinitely and 'freely' without being confined while being perfectly controlled. That is our future. —Gilles Deleuze (2006, 323) Who's in charge? I mean this as a Control question but also as a question raised in a real theory reading group with faculty and grad students during the Covid-19 pandemic. Or, better, What's in charge? to formulate a question in a way that doesn't humanize the problem. Mechanization Takes Command, Sigfried Giedion's 1948 masterpiece explores the ways mechanical technology is in charge of our lives, and Lev Manovich's 2013 Software Takes Command is really just an addendum to Giedion's project about the rise of programs, as Vilém Flusser would say. The notion that authority is functionally distributed in a system isn't really a new observation. Control serves the interests of…Capital. I suppose that's one kind of blunt answer. Global Finance. Neoliberalism. If a sleazy real estate mogul is the unloved figurehead of this system, so be it, but he's not really in charge, everyone knows it, despite his petulant assertions to the contrary and the very real effects of his actions. What I'm calling Control-Address might be seen as a gesture, the sort of mutated handshake protocol in the kind of society Deleuze describes. The handshake, which Flusser connects to the relationships between writers, editors, publishers, readers, and literary humanism, is, he says, "the most gripping of gestures, for it is at once one [End Page 17] of the most public and one of the most intimate" (2011, 41). The gesture of control is the handshake, withheld. As many have noted the word Postscript in Deleuze's title—"the Postscript on the Societies of Control"—is a hint that control is post-writing and post-literacy, but not post-data. It follows what Ian Hacking calls the avalanche of big numbers, an omnipresent relation to invisible, hidden meta-data controlling life. The postscript comes after the valediction. The frenzy of passing time under lock-down should give us nothing but time to think (and write and critique). The phrase come from Michel Foucault's discussion of "the birth of the prison" in his cornerstone analysis, Discipline and Punish (1995, 197). It stands out on the required reading lists circulating on our media feeds during these times of mixed messages about official and unofficial quarantines. The formulation captures a certain gesture of heightened tedium, exhaustion with the conflicting demands of capitalism and technology as they have penetrated our social life. In a contribution to a Los Angeles Review of Books feature called "The Quarantine Files: Thinkers in Self-Isolation," for example, Todd May passes time by proscribing a Bartleby-like stance ("This is Not the Time for Theory"): We don't need an original view of what is happening to us; not now…. Here's a very partial list of things we might need at some point but don't need right now: There will likely come a time when some of these projects become relevant (although I have my doubts particularly about #2 and #3). Then we will need to look back at what has happened and ask within a larger frame why it has happened and what lessons there are for the future. But now is not that time. 1. An innovative analysis of how capitalism or Donald Trump or globalization has led us to this crisis. 2. A clever and ironic contrarian take on #1. 3. An argument as to why none of this is really happening because we're all in hyperreality or a post-truth period. 4. Any form of "I told you so" based on previous analyses. 5...

The Metaphor of "War on Drugs" and "Mass Murder" in the Philippines: discourse analysis, power relations, and an interview with President Rodrigo Duterte

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.