Lopes, Cleber da SilvaAvanzi, Carla Campos2026-08-272026-08-272026-04-29https://repositorio.uel.br/handle/123456789/19689Abstract: The Federal Police (FP) in Brazil has undergone a process of institutional strengthening over the past 20 years, in addition to achieving significant media prominence following major anti-corruption operations. This study aims to investigate the construction of the Federal Police's institutional image, understood as a strategy mobilised within the power structures within the scope of the State. It seeks to answer the following questions: how does the FP construct its institutional image? If a coordinated communication strategy exists, in what sense does this image construction occur? The database used comprises all content published on the official FP profiles on Facebook, Instagram, and X (Twitter), as well as featured news articles published on the agency’s official website, referring to the years 2022 and 2023. To grasp the strategic aspects of image construction, in-depth interviews were conducted with professionals from the FP’s communication sector. The data were analysed using Critical Discourse Analysis, considering its three dimensions: text, discursive practice, and social practice. The study investigated the symbolic reinforcement related to the three fields of power in which the FP can operate: the defence field, the criminal justice field, and the transnational policing field. Although elements of reinforcement were identified in all three fields, the strategies employed differ according to the characteristics of eachengFederal policePolice institutionsOrganisational fieldsInstitutional imageSymbolic powerCorporate imagePower (Social sciences)BrazilElite police: the construction of the institutional image of the Federal Police and its positioning within the field of symbolic disputesPolícia de elite: a construção da imagem institucional da Polícia Federal e o seu posicionamento no campo de disputas simbólicasTeseCiências Humanas - SociologiaCiências Humanas - SociologiaPolícia federalInstituições policiaisCampos organizacionaisImagem institucionalPoder simbólicoImagem corporativaPoder (Ciências sociais)Brasil