War on Terror in Headlines: Lexical Choices and Ideological Positioning in Dawn Newspaper

Abstract

This study examines the ideological construction of the “War on Terror” in the headlines of Dawn, a leading English-language newspaper in Pakistan. Drawing on Fairclough’s three-dimensional model of Critical Discourse Analysis and van Dijk’s socio-cognitive approach, the research investigates how lexical choices, agency patterns, and evaluative language position actors, assign responsibility, and frame national identity within terrorism-related reporting. A purposive corpus of front-page headlines published during key phases of Pakistan’s counterterrorism operations is analyzed to identify recurring lexical patterns, including nominalization, passive constructions, metaphor, and militarized vocabulary. The findings reveal systematic tendencies toward agency suppression, strategic ambiguity, and selective lexical intensification, which collectively construct particular ideological narratives regarding state authority, militancy, and national security. The analysis demonstrates that headlines do not merely summarize events but actively shape public perception through condensed, ideologically loaded language. By foregrounding lexical selection as a site of power negotiation, this study contributes to scholarship on media discourse, political communication, and the role of English-language press in framing security discourse in Pakistan.

Keywords: War on Terror, Headlines, Critical Discourse Analysis, Dawn Newspaper, Lexical Choices, Ideology, Media Discourse.