A call to arms at the end of history: a discourse—historical analysis of George W. Bush's declaration of war on terror

• Published in: Discourse & society Vol. 15; no. 2/3; pp. 199 - 221
• Main Authors: GRAHAM, PHIL, KEENAN, THOMAS, DOWD, ANNE-MAREE
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: London SAGE Publications 01.03.2004; Sage Publications Ltd
• Subjects: Analysis; Bush, George W; Communication; Discourse; Discourse Analysis; Historical perspectives; History; Legitimate power; Nation states; Oratory; Particularity; Political communication; Political discourse; Political discourse analysis; Politics; Presidents; Responses; Rhetoric; Social Dynamics; Speech; Speeches; Terrorism; U.S.A; War; Warfare; critical discourse analysis; social dynamics; terrorism; political discourse; warfare
• ISSN: 0957-9265; 1460-3624
• DOI: 10.1177/0957926504041017

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 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: (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.