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Democratically Legitimised Repression: A Discursive Study of Security, Legitimacy, and Exceptional Governance in El Salvador.

Zanon, Sara LU (2026) MRSM15 20261
Human Rights Studies
Abstract
This thesis examines how exceptional security measures are discursively constructed
and legitimised in El Salvador under President Nayib Bukele during the ongoing state of exception introduced in March 2022. While the suspension of constitutional guarantees and implementation of mass detention policies have generated extensive criticism from human rights organisations and international actors, the regime has maintained exceptionally high levels of public support. This raises the question of how coercive and extraordinary measures become accepted and legitimised within a democratic context.

The study aims to analyse how exceptional security measures, particularly the state of
exception, are constructed and legitimised in political... (More)
This thesis examines how exceptional security measures are discursively constructed
and legitimised in El Salvador under President Nayib Bukele during the ongoing state of exception introduced in March 2022. While the suspension of constitutional guarantees and implementation of mass detention policies have generated extensive criticism from human rights organisations and international actors, the regime has maintained exceptionally high levels of public support. This raises the question of how coercive and extraordinary measures become accepted and legitimised within a democratic context.

The study aims to analyse how exceptional security measures, particularly the state of
exception, are constructed and legitimised in political discourse in El Salvador. Drawing on securitisation theory, theories of populism and penal populism, and scholarship on emergency power and the state of exception, the thesis develops an integrated analytical framework to examine the relationship between insecurity, legitimacy, and political authority.

Methodologically, the study combines qualitative content analysis and critical discourse
analysis of presidential speeches and tweets, legal texts, Legislative Assembly
communications, and a limited selection of public responses.

The findings demonstrate that exceptional measures are legitimised through three
interconnected discursive processes: the construction of crisis and threat, the
redefinition of concepts such as freedom and legality, and the production of legitimacy
through popular sovereignty and the delegitimation of critique. The study argues that
popular support for the regime is not produced despite the suspension of rights, but
through discursive processes that present exceptional governance as necessary, lawful,
democratic, and morally justified. (Less)
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author
Zanon, Sara LU
supervisor
organization
course
MRSM15 20261
year
type
H2 - Master's Degree (Two Years)
subject
keywords
El Salvador, Nayib Bukele, state of exception, securitisation, populism, emergency power, legitimacy, security, human rights
language
English
id
9246783
date added to LUP
2026-08-10 13:35:29
date last changed
2026-08-10 13:35:29
@misc{9246783,
  abstract     = {{This thesis examines how exceptional security measures are discursively constructed 
and legitimised in El Salvador under President Nayib Bukele during the ongoing state of exception introduced in March 2022. While the suspension of constitutional guarantees and implementation of mass detention policies have generated extensive criticism from human rights organisations and international actors, the regime has maintained exceptionally high levels of public support. This raises the question of how coercive and extraordinary measures become accepted and legitimised within a democratic context.

The study aims to analyse how exceptional security measures, particularly the state of 
exception, are constructed and legitimised in political discourse in El Salvador. Drawing on securitisation theory, theories of populism and penal populism, and scholarship on emergency power and the state of exception, the thesis develops an integrated analytical framework to examine the relationship between insecurity, legitimacy, and political authority.

Methodologically, the study combines qualitative content analysis and critical discourse 
analysis of presidential speeches and tweets, legal texts, Legislative Assembly 
communications, and a limited selection of public responses.

The findings demonstrate that exceptional measures are legitimised through three 
interconnected discursive processes: the construction of crisis and threat, the 
redefinition of concepts such as freedom and legality, and the production of legitimacy 
through popular sovereignty and the delegitimation of critique. The study argues that 
popular support for the regime is not produced despite the suspension of rights, but 
through discursive processes that present exceptional governance as necessary, lawful, 
democratic, and morally justified.}},
  author       = {{Zanon, Sara}},
  language     = {{eng}},
  note         = {{Student Paper}},
  title        = {{Democratically Legitimised Repression: A Discursive Study of Security, Legitimacy, and Exceptional Governance in El Salvador.}},
  year         = {{2026}},
}