Legitimation through Collectivization: Al Qaeda and US Discourses on the Use of Force

• Autor(a) principal: Motta, Bárbara
• Data de Publicação: 2021
• Outros Autores: Succi Junior, David P. [UNESP]
• Tipo de documento: Artigo
• Idioma: eng
• Título da fonte: Repositório Institucional da UNESP
• Texto Completo: http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/1057610X.2021.1961673; http://hdl.handle.net/11449/222219

Discursive struggles for legitimation are a constitutive feature of the politically guided deployment of force. This dynamic of political communication frequently entails engaging with multiple audiences, such as international, local, and intra-group. As it compels actors to diversify their narrative strategies, it often results in conflicting statements. We argue that a particular discursive strategy, which we call the collectivization of the self, provides actors with an instrument to address different audiences with a singular narrative. We present this strategy through a content and qualitative analysis of Bin Laden’s statements on terrorist actions and Bush’s speeches on the intervention in Afghanistan.