Legitimizing the “War on Terror”: Political Myth in Official-Level Rhetoric

Abstract

This paper argues that mythical discourse affects political practice by imbuing language with power, shaping what people consider to be legitimate, and driving the determination to act. Drawing on Bottici's (2007) philosophical understanding of political myth as a process of work on a common narrative that answers the human need to ground events in significance, it contributes to the study of legitimization in political discourse by examining the role of political myth in official-level U.S. war rhetoric. It explores how two ubiquitous yet largely invisible political myths, American Exceptionalism and Civilization vs. Barbarism, which have long defined America's ideal image of itself and its place in the world, have become staples in the language of the "War on Terror." Through a qualitative analysis of the content of over 50 official texts containing lexical triggers of the two myths, this paper shows that senior officials of the Bush Administration have rhetorically accessed these mythical representations of the world in ways that legitimize and normalize the practices of the "War on Terror."

Moral exclusion and the justification of U.S. counterterrorism strategy: Bush, Obama, and the terrorist enemy figure.

“…Regarding the emotional content of terrorism-related rhetoric, De Castella and McGarty (2011) Jackson (2007) argues that not only was fear of "sudden violent death" by terrorist violence used within rhetoric, but normalization and legitimization of the war on terrorism was accomplished through the construction and dissemination of various narrative structures (see also Esch, 2010;Jackson, 2005). One dominant narrative trope was the depiction of the war on terrorism as a "new war" that required new strategies and new means to fight the enemy (e.g., enhanced interrogation).…”

Mitos no Desengajamento Moral: Retóricas da Samarco em um Crime Corporativo

“…4, pp. 70-91, janeiro/fevereiro, 2018 www.anpad.org.br/rac valores e ideias (Bottici & Challand, 2006;Esch, 2010), sendo criados na forma de um repertório de narrativas, imagens, símbolos e modos de ação (De Neufville & Barton, 1987).…”

The Eternal Great Power Meets the Recurring Times of Troubles: Twin Political Myths in Contemporary Russian Politics

“…These myths provide senses of belonging and togetherness, underpin shared identities and serve to bestow popular legitimacy on political leaders who act in manners consistent with the myths (Esch 2010;della Sala 2010;McDonald 2010). Importantly, and contradictory to the common, everyday usage of the term, the actual truth of a political myth is not relevant for determining its political impact (Bottici 2010).…”