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A call to arms at the end of history: a discourse-historical analysis of George W. Bush's declaration of war on terror
Graham, Phil, Keenan, Thomas and Dowd, Anne- Maree (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: 199-221.
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| Name |
Description |
MIMEType |
Size |
Downloads |
| Author(s) |
Graham, Phil
Keenan, Thomas
Dowd, Anne- Maree
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| Title |
A call to arms at the end of history: a discourse-historical analysis of George W. Bush's declaration of war on terror
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| Journal name |
Discourse & Society
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| Publication date |
2004
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| Volume number |
15
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| Issue number |
2/3
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| ISSN |
0957-9265
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| Start page |
199
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| End page |
221
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| Total pages |
23
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| Editor(s) |
T. A. Van Dijk
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| Place of publication |
London
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| Publisher |
Sage Publications
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| Collection year |
2004
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| Language |
eng
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| Subject |
C1
380203 Discourse and Pragmatics
750404 Social ethics
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| Abstract |
In this article 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 'call to arms' speeches by Pope Urban 11 (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: (i) an appeal to a legitimate power source that is external to the orator, and which is presented as inherently good; (ii) an appeal to the historical importance of the culture in which the discourse is situated; (iii) the construction of a thoroughly evil Other; and (iv) an appeal for unification behind the legitimating external power source. We argue further that such texts typically appear in historical contexts characterized by deep crises in political legitimacy.
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| Keyword(s) |
Communication
Psychology, Multidisciplinary
Sociology
Critical Discourse Analysis
Political Discourse
Social Dynamics
Terrorism
Warfare
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