This paper is an analysis of the social actors in bilateral and multilateral unequal treaties investigating the system of ideas that expresses the interests of the powerful states engaged in the treaties in question. It tries to answer the following: how do the unequal treaties represent the social actors? Thus, the study aims at uncovering the ideological stance behind including or excluding treaties’ participants. For this end, the study analyzes six treaties using Van Leeuwn’s (1996:66) model .It has been found that social actors are represented in various ways and for various rationales. They are included to be assigned a responsibility, and to legitimate the stipulations agreed upon. They are excluded when the most significant part of the message is introduced instead, as being more important than its doers or to generalize the intended acts. In all cases, the ideological perspective involves satisfying the states’ interests.
Keywords: American treaties, Ideology, Power, critical discourse analysis
