The rise of China as an international and regional power has threatened the unipolar and hegemonic status of the United States (US). US-Sino relations have been further strained by the implementation of the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) and additional securitization of China by the US. This thesis will examine the process of securitization and how differences in ideologies and perceptions play a role in securitizing speech acts made by American elites. Congressional hearings will be analyzed by employing a critical discourse analysis using Fairclough’s three-dimensional model and Hansen’s poststructural securitization theory. Utilizing a theoretical framework based on poststructuralism aids in demonstrating the performative aspect of speech acts and contextualizing the discourse in a historical context. The findings exemplify an escalation of securitizing discourse due to the perceived threat of ideological expansion from China via the BRI. The discourse analyzed also demonstrates how the interior/exterior binary and unequal power relations are reproduced.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:UPSALLA1/oai:DiVA.org:mau-52527 |
| Date | January 2022 |
| Creators | Gilkey, Qiana |
| Publisher | Malmö universitet, Institutionen för globala politiska studier (GPS) |
| Source Sets | DiVA Archive at Upsalla University |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Student thesis, info:eu-repo/semantics/bachelorThesis, text |
| Format | application/pdf |
| Rights | info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccess |
Page generated in 0.0018 seconds