What are Norman Fairclough's ideas on language and power?

The two main ideas that you can use in an essay are his idea of 'power behind discourse' and 'power in discourse'. He believed that social situations are shaped by power dynamics. His idea of 'power behind discourse' looks at power dynamics between the two speakers themselves, and how their current situation affects their power asymmetry, or difference. For example, when looking at the 'power behind discourse' in a conversation between a political authority (like Theresa May) and the press, you might talk about how the press has power in their ability to decide the topic of conversation, as their job is to ask the questions, and you might look at the topic of the press conference itself.'Power in discourse' looks at the language itself, and how power relationships are demonstrates through language. For example, if one person in an interaction is using formal modes of address (such as 'sir') and the other isn't, this demonstrates a power imbalance in the language itself.