A reading through discourse analysis: XI Jinping and the construction of legitimacy

This study comprehensively examines the relationship between political power and legitimacy, and how the pursuit of societal consent by political power transforms into a legitimacy construction process through discourse analysis. The primary objective of this research is to analyze the processes of legitimacy acquisition by political power, specifically during the Xi Jinping era in China, revealing their effects on internal party legitimacy construction. The research question focuses on the legitimacy construction strategy employed by Xi Jinping, which enabled him to become the President of China for a third term despite constitutional limitations. In this context, the study offers a critical perspective on how the status quo is justified and how society is restructured politically, socially, and economically. The method of discourse analysis, a qualitative research approach, was utilized; Xi Jinping's speeches during the 19th and 20th National Congresses were analyzed to comparatively examine the discursive continuities and changes across periods. The study addresses how this transformation in China's political structure resonates both locally and internationally, documenting the impact of political discourse and leadership strategies on societal structures. The use of discourse analysis provides a profound insight into China's political dynamics and leadership rhetoric, topics that are seldom explored in the literature. This thesis contributes methodologically and theoretically to studies on China's political system and leadership approaches, extensively covering the transformation in Xi Jinping's rhetoric and the dynamic interactions of these transformations with social and political structures. The findings meticulously display the effects of Xi's legitimacy construction within the CCP and the wider society, emphasizing the innovations these strategies introduce to Chinese politics through a comparative approach.