Analyzing the Identity and Other Circuits in the Moderationist Discourse (Case Study: the Campaign Films of the 11th and 12th Presidential Elections)

This study is about to comparatively investigate how identity is represented in the campaign films of the 11th and 12th presidential elections in June 2013 and May 2017. This study is based on a question that “in the process of the 11th and 12th presidential elections, how identity is articulated in the campaign films of the hegemon candidate and it has been produced and reproduced with what kind of signifiers, elements and processes?” In order to answer this question this claim is proposed that in the process of the two periods of the presidential elections, the elected discourse has articulated his campaigns on the base of presenting a special formulation of its ideology in the context of which self and other are presented in a special way in the shade of the nodal signifier and reflect their borderlines with other discourses positively or negatively. The theoretical base and the methodological framework of this research are planned on defining three levels. The micro-level is based on linguistic mechanisms like explicit and implicit implication and intertextuality. In the middle level, concepts are gained through linguistic investigations and in order to reach the macro concepts, the approaches of Laclau and Mouffe and Norman Fairclough have been used. According to the findings, the Moderationist discourse in both of its presidential campaigns, being based on negative and other-making approach drew its identity borders and through backgrounding, positively represents itself.