Competing populist narratives in Pakistan: A discourse analysis of politicians, digital citizens, and bureaucratic counter-narratives

Populism has emerged as a powerful communication strategy in Pakistan. This study investigates: (i) the anti-military narratives employed by Pakistani politicians on X, (ii) the influence of these narratives on public behavior within digital discourse, and (iii) the counter-narratives advanced by the military. The dataset comprised 690 posts from X authored by six prominent politicians affiliated with three major political parties (PTI, PMLN, and PPP), which the study categorizes as populist and non-populist. The data also included 55,227 digital citizens’ comments and 146 press releases issued by Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR), the media and public relations wing of the Pakistan military. To analyze these datasets, we applied Laclau’s discourse theory of populism and van Dijk’s ideological square. The study reveals that each actor elevates his or her own moral identity while situating opponents as immoral. In so doing, they produce a hall of mirrors where civic-populism faces off against security-populism, and both insist they incarnate the national will. Whereas digital citizens, by contrast, draw heavily on politicians’ narratives to amplify anti-military sentiments. This study demonstrates that populism in Pakistan is not only a political trend but also a communication strategy, a digital phenomenon, and a mirror of societal anxieties, grievances, and demands for representation and power.