American Decline in the Perspective of Democrats and Republicans: Otherization and Construction of American Identity in Election Speeches

American decline has received substantial attention from Iranian political and academic circles, with few analysts paying attention to the domestic debate on the concept. One of the overlooked aspects is the different ways that liberals and conservatives define and construct it. This difference is manifested in the perception of American identity and on the global role of the US, and intensifies the socio-political cleavages inside the country. The existence of different declines means that there is no agreement on how to stop it, and increasing socio-political polarization. This study aims to apply critical discourse analysis (CDA) to the speeches of prominent members of the Republican and Democratic parties - with an emphasis on the Trump era - aiming to identify themes related to decline. The results confirm deep differences on the meaning of American identity but agreement on issues such as the exceptional character of the US.