The Power of Discourse and the Discourse of Power: Pursuing Peace through Discourse Intervention

In: International journal of peace studies, Band 10, Heft 1, S. 1-25

Abstract

Western-liberal discourses of power & the social practices associated with them are proving inadequate to the task of creating a peaceful, just, & sustainable social order. Having recognized this, progressive scholars & social reformers have begun articulating alternative discourses of power, along with alternative models of social practice. Together, these efforts can be interpreted as a project of discourse intervention -- an effort to change our social reality by altering the discourses that help constitute it. In order to advance this project, this paper deconstructs the dominant Western-liberal discourse of power, clarifies elements of an alternative discourse of power, & presents a case study of an alternative discourse community & the alternative models of social practice that it is constructing. 2 Figures, 83 References. Adapted from the source document.