Abstract
Though the role of media in national security matters has been generally understood in academic and public spheres, limited studies have been conducted and published, especially in the context of Nepal. Most studies have been confined to the civil-military relations, post-conflict transformation and media advocacy, international diplomacy, among others. The discourses carried through and by the media has been given limited attention in both academic and professional circles. Conducting critical discourse analysis of the media coverage and documenting perspectives of the national security and international relations scholars as well as media researchers and practitioners, this chapter attempts to understand the inter-relationship between the media and security sector in Nepal through the securitization theory. Examining the patterns of the Lipulekh border dispute, the chapter explores the process of securitization through the ‘speech act' and how it is shaping and has shaped public perceptions regarding national security and nationalism.
TopMethods
A qualitative research design using Critical Discourse Analysis (Fairclough, 1995) framework was adopted for this study. Conceptualized by Norman Fairclough, the Critical Discourse Analysis (CDA) consists of three dimensions: the object of analysis (including verbal, visual or verbal and visual texts); the processes by means of which the object is produced and received (writing/speaking/designing and reading/listening/viewing) by human subjects; and the socio-historical conditions which govern these processes.
Key Terms in this Chapter
Discourse: Interchange, discussion, and conversation over an idea or topic.
Diplomacy: Overall matters of a conduct of a country towards another country.
Desecuritization: The process of nullifying an issue, particularly related to politics or national affairs, that was securitized or considered a threat to human survival.
Speech Act: The process of analyzing the meaning behind the use of words in a particular manner.
Securitization: The process whereby an issue, particularly related to politics or national affairs, is considered a threat to human survival and therefore requires emergency actions or coercive means.
National Security: A broad concept encompassing a country’s protection particularly related to territory and defense, internal and external politics, and economics.
Media: A communication channel through which we disseminate various forms of information such as news, music, movies, education, among others.