MOCKING THE THRONES: A QUALITATIVE PRAGMATIC ANALYSIS OF SARCASM AS DIGITAL POLITICAL RESISTANCE IN PAKISTANI TWITTER DISCOURSE (2023-2025)

Abstract

The purpose of this research is to explore the pragmatic value of the use of sarcasm as one type of  resistance on Pakistani Twitter (X) discourses from 2023 to 2025. This study adopts Herring’s (2007) 
Computer-Mediated Discourse Analysis (CDMA) framework, Relevance Theory (Sperber & Wilson,  1986) and Grice’s Theory of Conversational Implicature (1974) to analyze selected sarcastic tweets  (from the corpus of 200 tweets) aimed against political individuals, government institutions, and  economic policies in Pakistan. This qualitative research will help us understand the use of irony, praise,  exaggeration, and rhetorical questions as acts of criticism and dissent. As a result of the analysis, it is  possible to say that there are three interconnected planes on which sarcasm operates within Pakistani  Twitter discourse: as an ideational tool that challenges mainstream narrative; as an interpersonal  technique that creates collective unity between protesters; and as a discursive practice that enables  resonance due to features of the social media platform including the use of hashtags, threads, and  retweets. This study sheds light on the relatively new research area of digital pragmatics and political  discourse in the postcolonial context of South Asia.