Violence and Humanitarian Crisis in Al-Jazeera’s Sudan Conflict Coverage: Teun A. Van Dijk’s AWK Analysis

Abstract

This study analyzes the reporting of the Al-Jazeera network regarding the conflict in Sudan using Teun A. Van Dijk’s Critical Discourse Analysis model, focusing on how international media construct the meaning of violence and crisis narratives. The research is based on the premise that news media are not merely neutral information providers, but also actors in shaping public opinion through language, perspectives, and specific ideologies in conflict reporting. The novelty of this research lies in its focus on digital media content from a major Arabic-language international news network and its use of Van Dijk’s critical analysis framework to examine the relationship between media discourse, social structures, and power in the context of humanitarian crises. This analysis is conducted at the textual, superstructural, and macrostructural levels, aiming to reveal how Al-Jazeera constructs narratives of victimization, neutrality, and geopolitical interests in its coverage. The findings indicate that Al-Jazeera consistently employs a humanitarian and sympathetic perspective toward the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) group as one of the main actors in the conflict. Teun van Dijk’s analysis model highlights the important role of media in shaping public opinion through narrative structures, ideology, and social context underlying news production.