Sustainasphere: Investigating Sustainability in UN Using Keyword Analysis

Abstract

This study looks at how economic standing shapes sustainability discourse. We analyzed 1,852 UN General Debate speeches from 2015 to 2024, grouped by four World Bank income categories. Using keyword analysis (LL ≥ 15.13) and a newer complement keyword method, we found four distinct discourse patterns. Low-income countries rely on crisis terms like “barracks” (LLR 6633.49) and “firewood” (LLR 2036.18). Lower-middle-income groups show a mixed style that blends development terms like “hydrological” with older institutional words like "monarchs." Upper-middle-income nations use diplomatic and technical codes such as “mercosur” (LLR 444.99) and “5g” (LLR 281.88). High-income economies lead in regulatory and innovation vocabulary, with a complement ratio of 15.4%. Document distribution also reveals institutionalization gradients (0.9–15.4% penetration) and lexical gatekeeping. Our findings improve current theory on how language ties into global economic structures. They also show that the complement keyword method works well for political discourse research, and they offer practical takeaways for policy communication across income levels. The language gaps we identified highlight how unequal discourse sustains knowledge imbalances in global environmental governance, giving real evidence to support fairer international dialogue. By linking discursive differences to national economic status through statistical testing, this work lays a clear methodological base for future comparative discourse studies and offers concrete insights into how language shapes global development inequality.