Legitimising language : 9/11 and liberal democracy

Since the famous 9/11 terrorist attacks in America, the American government has increased their military presence across the world, most notably by occupying Iraq and Afghanistan. This they have done under the banner of spreading liberal democracy to oppressed peoples in far off places, arguing that their actions represent asense of moral clarity and are necessary if the world is going to be safe from evil. This paper argues that the term liberal democracy and all the ideological rhetoric of freedom that is employed give the Americans a moral high ground from which they seek to excuse and legitimise their actions. This thesis shows how the framework of spreading liberal democracy has been and is being used in order to legitimise actions which appear to be contradictory to the professed goals of spreading liberty and equality, to oppressed people.

Grantor dc:publisher.institution

Department of English Language and Literature

Year dc:date.issued

2010

Author dc:creator

• Ennis, Andrew Edward

Language dc:language.iso

eng

Handle dc:identifier.uri

http://hdl.handle.net/11427/12372

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:open.uct.ac.za:11427/12372