Amer Akhtar

Lack of Hegemony in Pakistani Media Discourse on Terrorism:: a Critical Discourse Analysis Amer Akhtar

In the face of the onslaught of terrorism the work reviews the language of the Pakistani media to discuss the creation of hegemony?or lack thereof?against terrorism. The main argument of the book is that the media, despite being strong advocates of fighting terrorism politically and militarily fail to utilise linguistic devices to create a hegemonic view of al-Qaeda and Taliban terrorists as hardcore criminals out to plunder the country. At the same time the media fail to present the accomplishments of the security forces in defeating terrorists. This has had immensely significant social repercussions in that the Pakistani society has a certain soft corner for terrorists, despite frequent attacks on civillians, and it has failed to view terrorists as a menace. Other than to the observers of language the books will be of special interest to the students and teachers of linguistics and language and particularly researchers of Critical Discourse Analysis in Pakistan. Students of media studies and the media persons also stand to benefit from the book as it discusses the role of language in creating perceptions and transmitting information.