A CRITICAL DISCOURSE ANALYSIS OF NATIONAL AND INTERNATIONAL ENGLISH NEWSPAPER COVERAGE OF THE 2025 PAKISTAN FLOODS

Abstract

This study examines how national and international English newspapers construct awareness of environmental change during the 2025 Pakistan floods through linguistic and discursive strategies. Based on the Critical Discourse Analysis (CDA) framework of Fairclough (1995), the study provides an analysis of the chosen articles of Pakistani Dawn, The News International, and Express Tribune) and international (Reuters/AP, The New York Times and The Washington Post) newspapers. This textual analysis is based on textual attributes (vocabulary, modality, transitivity, and metaphors), and discursive and socio-cultural practices. The evidence suggests that the main frames of national newspapers present floods in terms of political, developmental, and governance-based narratives, focusing on institutional responses and local responsibility. International newspapers, on the contrary, frame the floods in the context of a global climatic crisis narrative, revealing vulnerability, humanitarian issues, and climate injustice. Comparative analysis shows that there is a lot of difference in terms of ideology in the Global South and Global North media representations. The research adds to the discussion on media and environmental communication by showing how language influences the general perception of climate-related disasters.