This paper contains an analysis of the rhetoric that was employed by President George W. Bush to describe the events of 9/11 and their consequences. This interest arises from the assumption that the presidential rhetoric had a powerful influence on the chain
of events that followed after the attack on the WTC and that many if not most of the
initial reactions were based on meanings that were constructed by the government. It
is the task of this essay to show that the most crucial influences that the President
had on the discourse were his constructions of the American people and the terrorist
enemies and his definition of the 9/11 attacks as an act of war.
The rhetoric that was used to convey these concepts is, in its terminology and imagery, specific to US American culture. It therefore largely works, as this essay intends to show, within a specifically American framework of cultural references.
The essay isolates a number of narrative paradigms that the presidential rhetoric either adopts or constructs and keeps returning to as motifs for the construction of its overall rationale.
Table of Contents
1. Instruments
1.1. Discourse Analysis
1.2. Narrative
1.3. Nation
1.4. National Identity
1.5. Identity
1.6. Discursive Strategies
1.7. The Functions of Enemy Images in Self-Identification
1.8. The U.S. and National Identity
1.9. American Enemy Images in the 20th century
2. Political Culture
2.1. Definition of Political Culture
2.2. Political Culture in the United States
2.2.1. Liberal Tradition
2.2.2. Republicanism
2.2.3. Religious Tradition
2.2.3.1. Civil Religion
2.2.3.2. Tradition of Sacrifice
2.2.4. The American Can-Do Spirit
2.3. The National Habitus
3. Analysis of President George Bush's post - 9/11 rhetoric
3.1. Analysed Material
3.2. The ‘Address to a Joint Session of Congress and the American People’
3.2.1. Structure & Content of the Speech
3.2.2. Narrative
3.2.3. The Paradigms
3.2.3.1. Paradigm 1: Nation Under Attack
3.2.3.2. Paradigm 2: World View
3.2.3.3. Paradigm 3: Freedom Rationale
3.2.3.3.1. Nature of Freedom
3.2.3.4. Paradigm 4: A Great Cause
3.2.3.5. Paradigm 5: War
3.2.3.6. Paradigm 6: Sacrifice and Unity
3.2.3.7. Paradigm 7: The Evil Nature of the Enemy
4. Conclusion & Perspectives
5. Bibliography
Objectives & Core Themes
This paper examines how President George W. Bush utilized rhetoric to construct a specific national narrative following the 9/11 terrorist attacks. It investigates how the presidential discourse redefined American identity and created an enemy image that justified the subsequent "war on terror" by anchoring these actions in American political culture and civil-religious traditions.
- Discourse analysis as a method to understand political identity construction.
- The role of American political culture (liberalism, republicanism, civil religion).
- The construction of "the enemy" through negative mirror images of American values.
- Presidential paradigms used to rationalize military action and national unity.
- The strategic use of civil religion to validate political objectives.
Extract from the Book
3.2.3.3.1.: Nature of Freedom
The concept of freedom and the paradigm of its pivotal role for Americans as well as for the terrorists run through the whole of the President's rationale from the very beginning. Yet the 9/20 address is the first statement in which he gives a more detailed outline of what the terrorists hate about freedom:
“They hate our freedoms -- our freedom of religion, our freedom of speech, our freedom to vote and assemble and disagree with each other.” (app. 16; 26-29)
This elaborate description differs in precision from the references to freedom in previous speeches, which did not specify the term. The seemingly superficial use of the term in the first speeches may be seen to work as a strategy of perpetuation in Wodak’s sense. It defines an in-group, including those who share the cultural background that this statement is made on and who can identify with this value without a more specific definition of the term. On the American national level, this implies that every American is expected to know what freedom means to him and his nation, since he is likely to share the cultural heritage of his nation (Poole 2003; Koch 1998). This function is also effective beyond the borders of the American nation. For the world model used by the President, it offers a means to distinguish those nations that can identify with the same values and consequently take sides with America in its newly found struggle from those nations that do not consent.
Summary of Chapters
Instruments: This chapter defines the theoretical framework, focusing on discourse analysis, narrative construction, and the formation of national identity within political discourse.
Political Culture: This chapter outlines the American political culture, specifically the "Americanism" model, analyzing its components such as liberal tradition, republicanism, and civil religion to provide a basis for the subsequent rhetorical analysis.
Analysis of President George Bush's post - 9/11 rhetoric: This main part applies the established theoretical framework to analyze how President Bush utilized specific paradigms to construct a cohesive narrative to rationalize the "war on terror".
Conclusion & Perspectives: This chapter summarizes findings, emphasizing that the President’s rhetoric was a self-contained construct used to shape public opinion and justify specific political and military actions.
Bibliography: This section provides a comprehensive list of all referenced works, including foundational theories in sociology, political science, and historical discourse.
Keywords
9/11, George W. Bush, War on Terror, Discourse Analysis, National Identity, Political Culture, Americanism, Narrative, Civil Religion, Freedom, Enemy Image, Rhetoric, Liberalism, Republicanism, Sacrifice.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is this research paper about?
This paper investigates the rhetorical strategies employed by President George W. Bush to frame the 9/11 attacks and justify the initiation of the "war on terror" through a constructed national narrative.
What are the central thematic areas?
The core themes include the formation of national identity, the political culture of the United States, the strategic construction of enemy images, and the use of civil-religious rhetoric.
What is the primary objective of this work?
The goal is to show that the presidential rhetoric following 9/11 was not merely a reaction to events but a deliberate construction of meaning that relied on established American cultural motifs to mobilize national support.
Which scientific methodology is used?
The study employs a discourse-historical approach, integrating historical context and theoretical models from political science and sociology to analyze the President's speeches.
What topics are discussed in the main analysis?
The analysis covers the development of rhetorical paradigms, such as the "Nation Under Attack," the "Freedom Rationale," the "War Paradigm," and the "Nature of the Enemy," based on presidential speeches from September 2001.
Which keywords characterize this work?
The study is characterized by concepts like Americanism, discourse, identity construction, and the strategic narrative of freedom versus evil.
How does the author define the "Civil Religion" in the context of this paper?
The author, following Robert Bellah, defines it as an institutionalized collection of symbols and rituals that functions as a vehicle for national religious self-understanding, distinct from specific church denominations.
What does the paper conclude about the President's rhetoric?
It concludes that the President's rhetoric functioned as a self-contained system that successfully utilized core American values to create a coherent narrative, thereby influencing public opinion and justifying military intervention.
- Quote paper
- Thomas Plöger (Author), 2005, Terror and Liberty - The Construction of a National Image and the Manufacturing of an Enemy in the United States, Munich, GRIN Verlag, https://www.grin.com/document/122338
