A Critical Discourse Analysis of ODI Think Tank's "Sustainable Development" Initiative Report Titles Based on Systemic Functional Linguistics
Abstract
Against the backdrop of advancing global sustainable development agendas, western think tanks embed ideologies and power relations in report titles. This study analyzes 118 special report titles containing the "SDGs" published by the UK's ODI from 2019 to 2024,
employing the three metafunctions of SFL and CDA to examine how linguistic strategies construct sustainability narratives. The findings
reveal that relational processes dominate ODI titles, establishing definitive policy positions through attributive judgments. Nominalization
and passivization strategies are frequently employed to obscure agency, transforming political issues into technical propositions. Furthermore,
declarative mood and deontic modality construct authority while negative evaluative lexis shapes crisis narratives. These linguistic features
mask structural inequalities in global governance, reproducing the dominance of Northern nations and neoliberal ideology.
employing the three metafunctions of SFL and CDA to examine how linguistic strategies construct sustainability narratives. The findings
reveal that relational processes dominate ODI titles, establishing definitive policy positions through attributive judgments. Nominalization
and passivization strategies are frequently employed to obscure agency, transforming political issues into technical propositions. Furthermore,
declarative mood and deontic modality construct authority while negative evaluative lexis shapes crisis narratives. These linguistic features
mask structural inequalities in global governance, reproducing the dominance of Northern nations and neoliberal ideology.
Keywords
Systemic Functional Linguistics; Critical Discourse Analysis; Sustainable Development; Think Tank Discourse; Power Relations
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DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.70711/rcha.v4i4.9572
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