Language, Power, and Face-Saving after Salala: A Critical Discourse Analysis of Ambiguity and Responsibility in U.S. –Pakistan Diplomacy
Using the U.S. State Department’s 3 July 2012 readout on reopening Pakistan’s supply routes after Salala, this study operationalises the Agentless Causation Composite (ACC), a clause-level diagnostic combining collectivisation, agent reduction (passives, deletion, causatives), and calibrated modality. Analysis shows ACC clustering at decision edges, where attribution and commitment are negotiated. In the absence of a Pakistan Foreign Office text, the Pakistan-side position is reconstructed through triangulated contemporaneous reporting, with claims limited to press-mediated discourse. Feature counts and co-occurrence patterns show ACC-dense clauses aligning with key policy shifts on 3 July and declining in later coverage. A reception check traces the emergence of an “apology” frame in Pakistani media. ACC integrates social-actor representation, transitivity, and modality into a single diagnostic and identifies where strategic ambiguity concentrates and how it circulates across audiences. Supporting materials include a codebook, clause IDs, and a reliability subset.
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Critical Discourse Analysis, Diplomatic Discourse, Ambiguity, Political Apologies, U.S.–Pakistan Relations, Power Asymmetry, Face-Saving
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(1) Jabreel Asghar
Lecturer, GARD, Higher Colleges of Technology, Al Ain, United Arab Emirates.
(2) Nataliia Borysenko
Assistant Professor, GARD, Higher Colleges of Technology, Al Ain, United Arab Emirates.
Cite this article
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APA : Asghar, J., & Borysenko, N. (2026). Language, Power, and Face-Saving after Salala: A Critical Discourse Analysis of Ambiguity and Responsibility in U.S. –Pakistan Diplomacy. Global Political Review, XI(I), 73-95. https://doi.org/10.31703/gpr.2026(XI-I).07
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CHICAGO : Asghar, Jabreel, and Nataliia Borysenko. 2026. "Language, Power, and Face-Saving after Salala: A Critical Discourse Analysis of Ambiguity and Responsibility in U.S. –Pakistan Diplomacy." Global Political Review, XI (I): 73-95 doi: 10.31703/gpr.2026(XI-I).07
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HARVARD : ASGHAR, J. & BORYSENKO, N. 2026. Language, Power, and Face-Saving after Salala: A Critical Discourse Analysis of Ambiguity and Responsibility in U.S. –Pakistan Diplomacy. Global Political Review, XI, 73-95.
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MHRA : Asghar, Jabreel, and Nataliia Borysenko. 2026. "Language, Power, and Face-Saving after Salala: A Critical Discourse Analysis of Ambiguity and Responsibility in U.S. –Pakistan Diplomacy." Global Political Review, XI: 73-95
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MLA : Asghar, Jabreel, and Nataliia Borysenko. "Language, Power, and Face-Saving after Salala: A Critical Discourse Analysis of Ambiguity and Responsibility in U.S. –Pakistan Diplomacy." Global Political Review, XI.I (2026): 73-95 Print.
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OXFORD : Asghar, Jabreel and Borysenko, Nataliia (2026), "Language, Power, and Face-Saving after Salala: A Critical Discourse Analysis of Ambiguity and Responsibility in U.S. –Pakistan Diplomacy", Global Political Review, XI (I), 73-95
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TURABIAN : Asghar, Jabreel, and Nataliia Borysenko. "Language, Power, and Face-Saving after Salala: A Critical Discourse Analysis of Ambiguity and Responsibility in U.S. –Pakistan Diplomacy." Global Political Review XI, no. I (2026): 73-95. https://doi.org/10.31703/gpr.2026(XI-I).07
