Selling peace, waging war

The rhetorical architecture of authoritarianism

Bibliographic Data

ID8253022
AuthorsJulia Khrebtan-Hörhager (0000-0001-9242-5548, Colorado State University, corresponding author)
Year2026
Volume60
Issue1
Pages1-12
Publication date2026-03-13
Open AccessNo
TypeARTICLE
VenueCommunication and Democracy (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 2767-1127 • E-ISSN: 2767-1135
PublisherInforma UK Limited (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.1080/27671127.2026.2641732
OpenAlexW7135182009
LanguageEN
References cited11

This essay examines the rhetoric of peace as a central communicative strategy in authoritarian and fascist regimes, arguing that peace is repeatedly redefined to legitimize violence, territorial expansion, and political domination. Drawing on rhetorical theory, critical cultural studies, and intercultural communication, the analysis compares fascist Italy, Nazi Germany, and contemporary Russia to show how leaders from Mussolini and Hitler to Putin frame aggression as protection, conquest as restoration, and war as moral necessity. Through concepts such as spazio vitale, Lebensraum, and Russia’s “special military operation,” peace becomes not the absence of violence but its rhetorical twin. The paper further introduces the Br/Other dynamic to explain how affective intimacy and Othering enable coercion to appear benevolent, particularly in Russia’s discourse on Ukraine. By tracing historical continuities and contemporary adaptations, this study demonstrates how language functions as a second front of authoritarian power and calls for reclaiming peace as an ethical, dialogic, and communicative practice.

Authoritarianism · Commodification · Key (lock · Narrative · Rhetorical device · Rhetorical question · Cyprus History, Politics, Society · Philippine History and Culture · Rhetoric and Communication Studies · Architecture

Tools

Open DOI