Framing Peace and Conflict Through Editorial Discourse: A Critical Discourse Analysis of Ideological Representations in Leading Indian and Pakistani Newspapers

This study explores how leading newspapers in India and Pakistan frame issues of peace and conflict through editorial discourse. Editorials are critical opinion pieces that reflect a newspaper’s ideological stance, thus serving as a rich site for uncovering subtle representations of national identity, conflict narratives, and peace-building efforts. The purpose of this research is to investigate how language is used ideologically in editorials from selected newspapers to construct particular views on Indo-Pak relations. Using Fairclough’s Three-Dimensional Model of Critical Discourse Analysis, the study analyzes editorials from a purposive sample of English-language dailies such as The Hindu, Times of India, Dawn, and The News International from the time period 2025. The research aims to unearth how linguistic choices contribute to either polarizing or peace-promoting narratives. The expected outcome is a clearer understanding of how editorial discourse sustains or challenges conflict ideologies. The study has broader implications for conflict-sensitive journalism and can guide media literacy programs, peace education curricula, and inter-state dialogue initiatives. The study will combine qualitative textual analysis with interpretative frameworks to uncover discursive strategies like nominalization, presupposition, metaphor, and lexical choices. This CDA-driven inquiry contributes to the growing body of interdisciplinary research at the intersection of media studies, sociolinguistics, and peace and conflict studies.