Holland, Jack (2010) Framing the 'war on terror' : American, British and Australian foreign policy discourse. PhD thesis, University of Warwick.

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Abstract

In September 2001 several states launched a series of counter-terrorism policies under the
banner of the 'War on Terror' that were unprecedented in their scope, intensity and cost.
Extensive domestic legislative agendas and surveillance programmes at home were matched
by increased military interventionism abroad, most significantly in Afghanistan and Iraq. This
thesis is concerned with examining how this 'War on Terror' was possible: how it was
conceivable for policy-makers and how it was 'sold' to domestic audiences.
More specifically, this thesis considers three principal members of the 'Coalition of the
Willing' in Iraq - the United States, Britain and Australia. Aside from adopting similar and
overlapping policy responses in the context of a commitment to the 'War on Terror', these
three states share a common language, intertwined histories and institutional similarities,
underpinned by perceptions of cultural proximity and closely related identities. However,
despite significant cultural, historical and political overlap, the 'War on Terror' was rendered
possible in these contexts in different ways, drawing on different discourses and narratives of
foreign policy and identity. In the US, President Bush employed highly reductive moral
arguments within a language of frontier justice, which was increasingly channelled through
the signifier of 'freedom'. In the UK, Prime Minister Blair framed every phase of the 'War on
Terror' as rational, reasoned and proper, balancing moral imperatives with an emphasised
logical pragmatism. In Australia, Prime Minister Howard relied upon particularly
exclusionary framings mutually reinforced through repeated references to shared values.
This thesis explores these differences and their origins, arguing that they have important
implications for the way we understand foreign policy and political possibility. They
demonstrate that foreign policy is both discursive and culturally embedded. And they illustrate
that foreign policy discourse impacts on political possibility in rendering some policy
responses conceivable while others unthinkable, and some policy responses acceptable while
others illegitimate. This thesis thus contributes to our understanding of political possibility, in
the process correcting a tendency to view the 'War on Terror' as a universal and monolithic
political discourse.

Item Type:	Thesis (PhD)
Subjects:	H Social Sciences > HV Social pathology. Social and public welfare J Political Science > JF Political institutions (General)
Library of Congress Subject Headings (LCSH):	War on Terrorism, 2001-2009, Great Britain -- Foreign relations -- 21st century, United States -- Foreign relations -- 21st century, Australia -- Foreign relations -- 21st century
Official Date:	May 2010
Dates:	Date Event May 2010 Submitted
Institution:	University of Warwick
Theses Department:	Department of Politics and International Studies
Thesis Type:	PhD
Publication Status:	Unpublished
Supervisor(s)/Advisor:	McDonald, Matt ; Croft, Stuart
Sponsors:	Economic and Social Research Council (Great Britain) (ESRC) ; Arts & Humanities Research Council (Great Britain) (AHRC) ; American Study and Student Exchange Committee (ASSEC) ; Europe and Asia Nexus Partnership ; International Studies Association ; British International Studies Association
Extent:	311 leaves
Language:	eng

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