Political Semiotics: A Multimodal Discourse Analysis of Newspaper Cartoons

Abstract

Political cartoons are more than satirical illustrations; they are cultural texts that communicate power, critique authority, and shape public perceptions of legitimacy. This study examines how political cartoons from Pakistan and the United States narrativize political authority through the application of Greimas's Actantial Model. Ten cartoons, five from each country, were purposively sampled from widely circulated sources during the 2024 election year. The cartoons were analyzed thematically across five categories: the rise and fall of political leaders; the role of the judiciary in shaping democracy; changing or undefined political systems; cheating and abandoning the people; and factors influencing election outcomes. Findings reveal distinct narrative patterns: Pakistani cartoons depict power as fluid and unstable, with political actors frequently shifting roles depending on alliances and crises, while American cartoons represent power as stable and individual-centered, with clear Subjects and Opponents reflecting structured democratic rivalry. The study demonstrates how cartoons function as semiotic performances that both reflect and challenge political systems. By highlighting differences in narrative logic across volatile and stable democracies, this research contributes to understanding the role of political cartoons as multimodal tools of communication, critique, and cultural meaning-making.

Keywords : Political cartoons; Semiotics; Greimas’ Actantial Model; Narrative roles; Power and legitimacy; Pakistan; United States; Visual political communication.