Legitymizacja władzy w perspektywie dyskursywnej
The Legitimation of Power in Discourse

The Approach of Theo van Leeuwen

Summary/Abstract: The relations of power and domination characteristic to all complex social orders should be explained in terms of their legitimation. Dominating groups use public normative discourses to justify their positions and the dominated consider such justifications as compelling enough not to undermine this relationship. The aim of this article is to analyse proposals for research on the legitimation of power developed in the area of contemporary research on discourse. The focus is on the analytical framework proposed by Theo van Leeuwen including four key categories of legitimation: reference to the authority, moral evaluation, rationalization and mythopoesis. The empirical material has been selected through purposive sampling to exemplify selected categories of legitimation. It consists of statements made by Polish politicians during the parliamentary debate of 9 March 2006 on draft laws concerning work and cooperation with the security bodies in communist Poland prepared by the Law and Justice, the Civic Platform and the League of Polish Families parties.

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