The alignment between a paradigm and an approach in studying the media discourse of guerrillas in the Middle East: a case of social constructionism and critical discourse analysis

This paper is an endeavour to show social constructionism as a paradigm aligns with critical discourse analysis methodology when the researcher aims to study how media discourse of a guerrilla in the Middle East frames and represents its identity, or when the researcher aims to identify the codes of media discourse and interpret the meaning. The paper traces the history and meaning of social constructionism, paradigms, discourse, discourse analysis and critical discourse analysis. It argues that social constructionist should utilise the axiology of critical theory in order to be aligned with critical discourse analysis. Meanwhile, the paper outlines the historical and contemporary contributions to the studies in discourse analysis discipline and distinguishes among three approaches of critical discourse analysis to conclude the most suitable version to study guerrillas’ media discourse.