POLITICAL DISCOURSE AND STRATEGY: ANALYZING DISCURSIVE TECHNIQUES IN BERNIE SANDERS' 2020 PRESIDENTIAL CAMPAIGN KICKOFF SPEECH

Abstract

The use of language in any specific political context has power to gain sympathy of the audiences. This is done using different discursive practices by political leaders in a political way. The current research is based on Political Discourse Analysis (PDA) of Bernie Sanders’s use of discursive strategies in 2020 presidential campaign kickoff speech. This research is qualitative in nature where textual evidences are taken from the written transcript of Bernie Sanders presidential speech. The main aim of this paper is to do political discourse analysis of the discursive strategies used by Bernie Sanders in his political campaign. The researcher has used van Dijk (1993) Principles of Critical Discourse Analysis and socio cognitive model (1998) as theoretical frameworks. In light of these theoretical frameworks, the researcher has emphasized and highlighted the ideology of Bernie Sanders in his political discourse and use of different discursive strategies to increase number of voters and supporters. The findings of the research reveals that Bernie Sanders’s use of discursive strategies is purposeful in creating good image of his party and presenting negative side of the other party.