Arguing Security: Rhetoric, Media Environment, and Threat Legitimation

In this dissertation, I study the process of gaining public consent about a security threat, or threat legitimation. Threats require legitimation because they are social facts and not objective truths or subjective perceptions. I argue rhetorical resources and strategies affect threat legitimation. Political actors deploy rhetorical resources and strategies in order to generate consent. The rhetorical resources connect together the rhetorical resources to construct a threat narrative used in the public debates. Moreover, I argue that the media environment influences how rhetorical strategies affect threat legitimation, acting as a conditional variable. Therefore I trace the threat narratives in six episodes in the history of United States foreign policy. Through process tracing, I highlight how rhetorical resources and strategies changed the public debates and level of consent about a threat, and how the media environment influenced these rhetorical strategies.

Grantor dc:publisher

Temple University. Libraries

Year dc:date.issued

2010

Author dc:creator

• Lusk, Adam

Advisor dc:contributor.advisor

• Pollack, Mark A., 1966-

Committee members dc:contributor.committeemember

• Deeg, Richard, 1961-
• Herrera, Geoffrey Lucas, 1965-
• Widmaier, Wesley W.

• International Relations
• Political Science, International Law and Relations

Statement dc:rights

• IN COPYRIGHT- This Rights Statement can be used for an Item that is in copyright. Using this statement implies that the organization making this Item available has determined that the Item is in copyright and either is the rights-holder, has obtained permission from the rights-holder(s) to make their Work(s) available, or makes the Item available under an exception or limitation to copyright (including Fair Use) that entitles it to make the Item available.

Licence dc:rights.uri

• http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/

Language dc:language.iso

eng

Dc Identifier Other

864884692

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:scholarshare.temple.edu:20.500.12613/1793