Discursive Construction of Political Identities through Youthia and Patwari on Twitter

Abstract

This study investigates how language is used to construct political identities through specific keywords. The research focuses on political discourse on the social media platform X (formerly Twitter), which serves as a central arena for global political interaction. The study is situated within the Pakistani political context, where two terms—“Youthia” and “Patwari”—frequently appear in user comments. “Youthia” refers to supporters of the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), whereas “Patwari” denotes supporters of the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N). The dataset comprises comments posted under the tweets of prominent politicians. Adopting a qualitative research approach, the study analyzes narrative data to explore how these terms contribute to identity construction. The theoretical framework is based on Van Dijk’s (1998) model of positive self-representation versus negative other-representation within Critical Discourse Analysis (CDA). This model facilitates the examination of how discourse constructs and deconstructs social identities through linguistic choices. The findings reveal that Twitter users employ the terms “Youthia” and “Patwari” to stigmatize and undermine the supporters of opposing political parties. Supporters of each group engage in discursive practices that emphasize their own positive attributes while highlighting the perceived flaws of their rivals. Consequently, these labels have become powerful linguistic tools for constructing polarized political identities. The study concludes that such discourse practices intensify political polarization in Pakistan, transforming supporters into adversaries and enabling politicians to exploit these divisions for their strategic advantage.