The Political Discourse of the Pandemic: A Metaphor Analysis of Recep Tayyip Erdogan's Covid-19 Speeches

In this study, metaphors used by Recep Tayyip Erdogan in his speeches during Covid-19 to consolidate the society, which was negatively affected socially and economically by the pandemic, in line with his own political goals, to eliminate possible threats to his political career and to give hope to the society for the future, are identified. In order to explain the ideological and cultural framework of the metaphors used in detail, a total of 127 speeches made between March 2020 and March 2022 are analyzed with the method of critical metaphor analysis. The findings show that Erdogan's speeches focused on five topics: Covid-19, public health, economy, domestic policy and foreign policy, and they were cultural, war, economy, religion, morals-ethics, merit, time, value, health and movement. It shows that metaphors grouped under ten titles are used intensively on these subjects. As a result, it has been determined that Erdogan frequently uses the power of metaphors in his discourses, by choosing metaphors consciously, he strengthens the meaning of the points he wants to emphasize in his speech, and he wants to mobilize them in line with his goals, especially by getting the support of the society for his own goals.