A call to arms at the End of History: A discourse-historical analysis of George W. Bush’s declaration of war on terror
(2004) A call to arms at the End of History: A discourse-historical analysis of George W. Bush’s declaration of war on terror . Discourse & Society 15(2-3):pp. 199-221.
Full text available as: |
Abstract
In this paper we take a discourse-historical approach to illustrate the significance of George W. Bush’s (2001) declaration of a “war on terror”. We present four exemplary "all to arms" speeches by Pope Urban II (1095), Queen Elizabeth I (1588), Adolf Hitler (1938) and George W. Bush (2001) to exemplify the structure, function, and historical significance of such texts in western societies over the last millennium. We identify four generic features that have endured in such texts throughout this period: (1) an appeal to a legitimate power source that is external to the orator, and which is presented as inherently good; (2) an appeal to the historical importance of the culture in which the discourse is situated; (3) the construction of a thoroughly evil Other; and, (4) an appeal for unification behind the legitimating external power source. We argue further that such texts typically appear in historical contexts characterised by deep crises in political legitimacy.
| Item Type: | Journal Article |
|---|---|
| RM Number: | 2007004760 |
| Status: | Published |
| Keywords: | Critical discourse analysis; terrorism; social dynamics; political discourse; warfare |
| Subjects: | 220000 Social Sciences, Humanities and Arts - General |
| ID Code: | 7267 |
| Deposited By: | Graham, Prof Phil |
| Deposited On: | 08 August 2007 |
| Alternative Locations: | http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/0957926504041017 |
| Copyright Owner: | Copyright 2004 Sage Publications |
| Copyright Statement: | Reproduced in accordance with the copyright policy of the publisher. |