FRAMING THE GAZA CRISIS: A CRITICAL DISCOURSE ANALYSIS OF IDEOLOGICAL POSITIONING AND HUMANITARIAN DIPLOMACY IN PAKISTAN AND BANGLADESH

Abstract

The escalating humanitarian crisis in Gaza post-October 2023 has prompted significant diplomatic repositioning within the Global South. This study employs Critical Discourse Analysis (CDA) to examine the official press releases issued by the Foreign Offices of Pakistan and Bangladesh, focusing on the period between October and December 2023. Utilising Van Dijk’s Ideological Square Model, the research investigates how these states operationalise language to contest hegemonic geopolitical narratives. Prioritising the identification of argumentative topoi over quantitative frequency and the deconstruction of "Us/Them" binaries, the methodology adopts a qualitative epistemological stance. The analysis reveals that Bangladesh pursues an UN-centred diplomacy rooted in universal human rights and its own anti-colonial history, while Pakistan leverages its leadership within the OIC to promote political and religious solidarity. What emerges is not uniformity but divergence in how postcolonial states navigate global crises. As per the findings, while claiming ethical leadership, each nation, alongside legal reasoning, uses humanitarian diplomacy to counter unequal global power structures. In time, this study amid modern disputes offers decision-makers a lens through which state narratives influence ideas of fairness and confront bias.