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Article published In:
Journal of Argumentation in Context
Vol. 11:2 (2022) ► pp.157–179

(De-)constructing New Zealand PM Jacinda Ardern’s initiative to wear the hijab after the Christchurch terrorist attack

Critical perspectives on newspapers’ discourse and argumentation

| The Open Polytechnic of New Zealand
| University of Liverpool

This paper examines the discursive construction of Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern after she wore a veil following the unprecedented terror attack in two mosques in the city of Christchurch in 2019. The articles analyzed are collected from three main newspapers published in New Zealand’s three main cities. Analyzed using principles and tools from Critical Discourse Studies (CDS) and Argumentum Model of Topics (AMT) more specifically, the articles reveal key arguments from both sides i.e. in support of and against this unparalleled initiative on behalf of a political leader in the western world. On the one hand, the majority of the news articles under analysis portray PM’s initiative as one that attempts to mitigate tension and conflict while bringing solidarity to a grief-stricken nation; and thus, are based on the ‘locus from ontological implications’. While the perspectives that oppose the initiative vary from explicit racist ones that present Muslims as threat to Zealand, to those who strongly believe such actions support the women oppression. Through a (de-)construction of the arguments opposing this move, the findings demonstrate that the opposition towards PM’s initiative is based on two main loci namely the ‘locus from correlates’ and the ‘locus from termination and setting up’

Keywords: argumentation, Critical Discourse Studies, Jacinda Ardern, Argumentum Model of Topics (AMT), Hijab, Christchurch, Muslim, New Zealand
Article outline
  • 1.Introduction
  • 2.Perceptions and representations of the Hijab
  • 3.CDS and argumentation
    • 3.1From DHA to AMT: Studying argumentative inferences in media discourse
  • 4.The data
  • 5.Data analysis
  • 6.Discussion and conclusions
  • Acknowledgements
  • Notes
  • References
Published online: 6 October 2022
DOI logo
https://doi.org/10.1075/jaic.21006.sal
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