The Critical Discourse Analysis of “The King's Philosophy for Sustainable Development” TV program

Abstract

This study is a critical discourse analysis of a TV program, “The King's Philosophy for Sustainable Development.” The purpose of the study is to understand the discourse of the program in terms of Text and the discourse practice, which related to social and cultural practices. In the methods, Critical Discourse Analysis was used as a guideline to examine the relation between discourse and society. Text, discourse practice, and social-cultural practices of the program were analyzed according to Norman Fairclough’s theory (1995). A total of 94 episodes of TV programs broadcasted between October 2017 to March 2019 were examined. The results showed that there were five categories of discourses: 1) creating an international recognition 2) The national reform with stability, prosperity, and sustainability 3) Anti-Corruption and Protecting National Security 4) An administration following the King's principles and 5) Natural resource management. With respect to Text, the TV program showed how the government had adopted "The King's Principles" and "Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)" to their administration in order to receive acceptance by the audiences. The discourse of development communication was focusing on righteousness. Moreover, projects and policies made by the government were showed to be related with SDGs and The King's philosophy in order to obtain positive perception of the audiences.