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Modiplomacy and Diaspower The discursive construction of modernity and national identity in Narendra Modi ’ s communication with the Indian diaspora
| Content Provider | Semantic Scholar |
|---|---|
| Author | Gulati, Saanya |
| Copyright Year | 2017 |
| Abstract | This study seeks to examine the discursive construction of modernity and national identity in Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s communication with the diaspora. By applying Critical Discourse Analysis (CDA) to Modi’s diasporic speeches, it views his engagements as discursive sites of power where governments extend their national influence beyond the state’s legal jurisdictions. Using the framework of nation branding, which represents a powerful tool to reinforce modernist conceptions of nationhood, this study investigates the dialogical production of national identity and modernity in the version of brand India that Modi constructs for diasporic audiences. In other words, it asks: how is the idea of India being ‘sold’ to Indians who live overseas? The findings indicate that Modi’s discourses emphasise the pursuit of modernisation as an unequivocal reality and aspirational goal, but exclude alternative voices, downplay diversity, and shun social inequities. They thus embody the fundamental tensions and Janus-faced forms of knowledge that underlie nation branding exercises, and modernist interventions. Amplified by the strategic choice of target audience, who espouse an amorphous sense of nationalism, and prior political predispositions to the party that Modi represents, these engagements shape a new political sphere of power, which the study calls ‘diaspower.’ Diaspower represents a strategic avenue for the ideological consolidation of Modi’s neoliberal agenda, which is intrinsically wedded to the political brand around which his individual premiership is constructed. It thus assists in exercising governmentality as a form of transnational power, embedding his hegemonic status, and translating this support into national monetary gains. Far from being a superficial practice, diaspower foreshadows profound implications for a democratic nation to imagine alternative visions of social progress. |
| File Format | PDF HTM / HTML |
| Alternate Webpage(s) | http://www.lse.ac.uk/media-and-communications/assets/documents/research/msc-dissertations/2016/Dissertation-Saanya-Gulati.pdf |
| Language | English |
| Access Restriction | Open |
| Content Type | Text |
| Resource Type | Article |
