US VERSUS THEM POLARIZATION AND POLITICAL LEGITIMATION IN ZOHRAN MAMDANI’S INAUGURAL ADDRESS: A CRITICAL DISCOURSE ANALYSIS

Abstract

This paper analyzes how ideological meanings and political legitimation are discursively formed in Zohran Mamdani’s
inaugural speech. It aims to understand how linguistic choices influence collective identity, ideological polarization, and
political authority. Methodologically, this qualitative research employs textual analysis and van Dijk’s socio-cognitive
framework to investigate Mamdani’s inaugural speech. The findings reveal that Mamdani’s inaugural speech constructs “the
people” as a morally legitimate collective, organizes political meaning through implicit us-versus-them polarization, and
legitimizes authority by grounding governance in shared experiences, moral responsibility, and collective struggle.
Ideological meanings are shown to be cognitively embedded through narrative framing, experiential references, and
evaluative language rather than explicit ideological statements. The research contributes to CDA by demonstrating the
relevance of socio-cognitive mechanisms in analyzing contemporary inaugural discourse delivered by a non-traditional
political actor. It extends existing CDA research on political legitimation and highlights the value of socio-cognitive
approaches for understanding how political authority is normalized and made acceptable in diverse democratic contexts,
offering directions for future research on political speeches and leadership discourse.