The Ideology of Globalization in Arabic Speaking Western Media

France 24 as a Case Study

Abstract

This paper presents a critical reading of the ideological dimensions of globalization discourse in Western media, taking France 24 as a case study. It examines the role of these dimensions in perpetuating unequal power relations globally, especially since the media plays a mediating role in supporting dominant powers or reproducing them within a particular social and cultural system. Globalization, in its general meaning, is a set of processes often embodied in commercial relations and exchanges, and in the spread of media and technological interactions across countries. Globalism, on the other hand, is a discourse that advocates for globalization, and seeks to promote it globally, claiming that it is the path to achieving human progress. From the perspective of Critical Discourse Analysis (CDA), specifically according to Fairclough’s dialectical-relational approach, globalism is a discourse on globalization, formed through the use of language in context. This paper seeks to uncover the manifestations of globalization in Arabic-speaking Western media (France 24 as a case study) by examining the rhetorical strategies embedded in media texts that reflect a system of values supporting the ideology of globalization. It also examines the discursive practices of media institutions and their relationship to the globalized media agenda, as well as the social practices that seek to achieve and legitimize political, economic, and cultural hegemony. To achieve this, the paper employs CDA, an analytical framework that explores all intersecting disciplines related to the social sciences, and a critical vision that links linguistic analysis with practices of power, hegemony, and ideology. It uses a corpus consisting of a collection of news reports published on the France 24 website, in addition to some of the channel's television programs. The analysis of the corpus in focus helped reach interesting findings, including (1) the promotion of globalized modern liberal values as a force for good, (2) the focus on violence and terrorism in the countries of the South while neglecting other issues in the region, and (3) the distortion of local specificities when referring to religious values in particular.