By Azimah Shurfa Mohammed Shukry
Published in Intellectual Discourse, Vol. 21, No. 2 December 2013
This article is a Critical Discourse Analysis (CDA) of the discursive strategies employed by Mahathir Mohamed, former Prime Minister of Malaysia, in 10 of his speeches that express resistance and challenge to the former U.S. President, George W. Bushs military ideology of œwar on terror post September 11, 2001. The study is guided by CDAs focus on power relations and power struggle that are manifested in language. On speaking against terrorism, Mahathirs dislike for the Bush administrations handling of the issue is viewed as a platform to further his own ideology. The analysis reveals how Mahathirs arguments fall within the human rights rhetoric that calls on general norms, freedom, human rights, and justice, supported with biases towards the plight of Muslims and the Middle East. Mahathirs resistance to Bush reveals repetitive use of national rhetoric, self-glorification, comparison moves, and references to shared history and shared presuppositions, and his criticisms towards the œothers fall within the ideological construction of a positive self-presentation of himself as Prime Minister of Malaysia and a Muslim leader to be emulated.