Religio-political Ideology: A Comparative Study of Pakistani Political Parties' Manifestos

Open Access

Abstract

Manifestos of political parties are considered the roadmap of any political party to work for the well-being of the people and to persuade them to vote for that party. The present research critically analyses the religio-political elements present in the manifestos published during 2013-2018 of three Pakistani political parties (PTI, PML-N & JIP). The researchers have employed Dijk's 2004, 2009 and Wodak 2001 analytical model to analyze the discourse of manifestos of PTI, PML-N & JIP. The levels of analysis include othering, lexicalization, allusion and authority. The research finds that these three political parties have associated religion with different social and political activities to do politics. The quantification of data in terms of religious representation highlights that PTI has made use of religious aspects 40 times, PML-N 214 times and JIP 236 times in their manifestos. Additionally, the research highlights that political manifestos are among the best sites for the investment of religio-political ideology.