Framing the Wars in the Gulf and in Bosnia

The Rhetorical Definitions of the Western Power Leaders in Action

Datos Bibliográficos

ID3915992
AutoresRiikka Kuusisto (0000-0001-5341-7385, University of Helsinki, autor de correspondencia)
Año1998
Volumen35
Número5
Páginas603-620
Fecha de publicación1998-09-01
Peer ReviewedSí
Open AccessSí
TipoARTICLE
RevistaJournal of Peace Research (JOURNAL)
Identificadores de la revistaISSN: 0022-3433 • E-ISSN: 1460-3578
EditorialSAGE Publications Inc (PUBLISHER)
DOI10.1177/0022343398035005004
OpenAlexW2109652887
IdiomaEN
Citas recibidas15
Referencias citadas19

This article examines the rhetorical action of the Western major powers in defining two important international confrontations, the 1990-91 war against Saddam Hussein in the Gulf and the 1992-95 conflict among the Serbs, Croats and Muslims in Bosnia-Herzegovina. The leaders of the United States, Great Britain and France constructed the efforts of the anti-Iraq coalition as a `just war with a new world order as its goal' but represented the Bosnian strife as a `cruel and meaningless slaughter that outside forces can do very little about', and thereby selected appropriate policies for dealing with the situations. In their statements in the Gulf, the Iraqi president was made the ultimate enemy, dangerous and evil, who had to be crushed in order to make the world safe again. As to Bosnia, the evanescent enemies left the Western powers bewildered and unwilling to dictate any solutions. Besides framing the conflicts as heroic battles or tragic feuds, the Western leaders employed various metaphors to make the distant events and their policies seem significant and coherent. The apparently harmless and light-hearted comparisons with children's stories, card games, business deals, and sports competitions induced forceful action in the Gulf; by contrast, paralleling the situation with sad dramas, horrible nightmares, violent natural catastrophes, and treacherous morasses made decisive interference impossible in Bosnia. The Gulf metaphors made clear to all the folly of leaving the princess in the lurch, not playing a winning hand, passing up the chance for a great investment, or canceling the Cup Final. In Bosnia, the metaphors made it unthinkable to dash onto the stage to defend the scapegoat, act on the visions of a frightening dream, stand in the way of the whirlwind, or try to cross the quicksand

Action (physics) · Adversary · Belligerent · Bosnian · Computer security · Diplomacy · Framing (construction) · Literature · Media studies · Political economy · Political science · Politics · Power (physics) · Rhetorical question · Rules of engagement · Sociology · Computer Science · History · Law · Middle East and Rwanda Conflicts · Philosophy · Rhetoric and Communication Studies