Semantic complications in the war on terror discourse and manipulation of language by state and non-state actors
Keywords:
discourse, language, media, semantic complications, terrorismAbstract
Since September 11, 2001, attacks on the Twin Towers and the Pentagon, the US along with its allies declared War on Terror, where the binary opposition of ‘Us’ vs ‘Them’ was firmly established and channelized via both electronic and print media. The media’s discourse on the war against terrorism has been an intriguing research area for linguists as well as international relations experts. This paper highlights the problematization in defining a universally accepted definition of terrorism, the idiosyncratic nature of the War on Terror and how it differs from conventional wars, and, later how media, state and non-state actors (those labeled terrorists) use language to legitimize their views.
Downloads
References
Astawa, I. N., Mantra, I. B. N., & Widiastuti, I. A. M. S. (2017). Developing communicative English language tests for tourism vocational high school students. International Journal of Social Sciences and Humanities, 1(2), 58-64. https://doi.org/10.29332/ijssh.v1n2.43
Beckman, M. (2016). "Which Countries’ Terrorist Attacks Are Ignored By The U.S. Media?" five thirty eight. doi:<https://fivethirtyeight.com/features/which- countries-terrorist-attacks-are-ignored-by-the-u-s-media/>.
Bush, G. W. (2001). President Bush addresses the nation. Washington Post, 20, 2001.
Castan Pinos, J., & M. Radil, S. (2018). The territorial contours of terrorism: A conceptual model of territory for non-state violence. Terrorism and Political Violence, 1-20. https://doi.org/10.1080/09546553.2018.1442328
Chermak, S. M., & Gruenewald, J. (2006). The media’s coverage of domestic terrorism. Justice Quarterly, 23(4), 428-461. https://doi.org/10.1080/07418820600985305
Clark, R. P. (2002). Journalism. St. Petersburg: The Poynter Institute for Media Studies, 1994. Ghiglione, Loren, ed. Improving Newswriting: The Best of the American Society of Newspaper Editors. Washington, DC: ASNE Foundation. News Reporting and Writing: With Free Brush-Up and NRW, 188.
Clift, E. (2010). Michelle Bachelet moved Chilean government from macho to maternal. Politics Daily.
Crelinsten, R. D. (1989). Terrorism and the media: Problems, solutions, and counterproblems. Political Communication, 6(4), 311-339. https://doi.org/10.1080/10584609.1989.9962881
Ganor, B. (2002). Defining terrorism: Is one man's terrorist another man's freedom fighter?. Police Practice and Research, 3(4), 287-304. https://doi.org/10.1080/1561426022000032060
Golder, B., & George, W. (2004). What is Terrorism-Problems of Legal Definition. UNSWLJ, 27, 270.
Gorman, L., & McLean, D. (2009). Media and society into the 21st century: a historical introduction. John Wiley & Sons.
Greene, A. (2017). Defining terrorism: one size fits all?. International & Comparative Law Quarterly, 66(2), 411-440. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0020589317000070
Gul, I. (2010). The most dangerous place: Pakistan's lawless frontier. Penguin UK.
Harris, S. J. (1986). Clearing the Ground. doi:< https://www.azquotes.com/author/6311-Sydney_J_Harris>‘Holy War’. In Encyclopaedia Britannica.
Hass, R. N. (2006). Drop the “War on Terrorism” Metaphor. Daily Star. doi:<https://yaleglobal.yale.edu/content/drop-war-terrorism-metaphor>.
Hoffman, B. (1998). Inside Terrorism Columbia University Press. ISBN 0.
Huff, C., & Kertzer, J. D. (2018). How the public defines terrorism. American Journal of Political Science, 62(1), 55-71. https://doi.org/10.1111/ajps.12329
Huffington, A. (2001). Governor Davis and the Failure of Power. Salon. com.
Hülsse, R., & Spencer, A. (2008). The metaphor of terror: Terrorism studies and the constructivist turn. Security Dialogue, 39(6), 571-592. https://doi.org/10.1177%2F0967010608098210
Katz, M. N. (2012). Leaving without losing: The war on terror after Iraq and Afghanistan. JHU Press.
Kentish, B. (2017). Terror attacks receive five times more media coverage if perpetrator is Muslim, study finds. The Independent.
Lakoff, G. (2006). Whose freedom?: the battle over America's most important idea. Farrar, Straus and Giroux.
Lewis, C. (2014). 935 Lies: The Future of Truth and the Decline of America S Moral Integrity. Public Affairs.
Lizardo, O. (2008). Defining and theorizing terrorism: A global actor-centered approach. Journal of World-Systems Research, 14(2), 91-118. https://doi.org/10.5195/jwsr.2008.341
Maiese, M. (2003). Dehumanization. Beyond Intractability. Retrieved January 20, 2006.
Martini, A. (2016). The Construction of the Discourse on" Terrorism". Politikon, 30.
Matusitz, J. (2013). Terrorism and communication. Sage.
Novenario, C. M. I. (2016). Differentiating Al Qaeda and the Islamic State through strategies publicized in Jihadist magazines. Studies in Conflict & Terrorism, 39(11), 953-967. https://doi.org/10.1080/1057610X.2016.1151679
Parker, T., & Sitter, N. (2016). The Four Horsemen of Terrorism: It's Not Waves, It's Strains. Terrorism and Political Violence, 28(2), 197-216.
Pokalova, E. (2018). The Al Qaeda Brand: The Strategic Use of the “Terrorist” Label. Terrorism and Political Violence, 30(3), 408-427. https://doi.org/10.1080/09546553.2016.1169175
Ramsay, G. (2015). Why terrorism can, but should not be defined. Critical Studies on Terrorism, 8(2), 211-228. https://doi.org/10.1080/17539153.2014.988452
Rapoport, D. C. (1971). Assassination & terrorism. Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC Audio).
Rapoport, D. C. (2016). It is waves, not strains. Terrorism and Political Violence, 28(2), 217-224. https://doi.org/10.1080/09546553.2015.1112278
Raz, G. (2006). Defining the war on Terror. NPR: All things considered.
Rothenberger, L., & Kotarac, M. (2014). The discursive construction of a religious terrorist group identity. Култура/Culture, 5(11), 91-102.
Rothenberger, L., Müller, K., & Elmezeny, A. (2018). The discursive construction of terrorist group identity. Terrorism and Political Violence, 30(3), 428-453. https://doi.org/10.1080/09546553.2016.1180288
Schmid, A. (2004a). Framework for Conceptualizing Terrorism. Terrorism and Political Violence 16 (2), 197-221.
Schmid, A. (2004b). Terrorism - The Definitional Problem. Case Western Reserve Journal of International Law, 36(2), 375-419.
Schmid, A. P. (1992). The response problem as a definition problem. Terrorism and Political Violence, 4(4), 7-13. https://doi.org/10.1080/09546559208427172
Schmid, A. P. (Ed.). (2011). The Routledge handbook of terrorism research. Taylor & Francis.
Schudson, M. (2011). What’s unusual about covering politics as usual. In Journalism after September 11 (pp. 70-80). Routledge.
Simon Jeffrey, D. (1994). The Terrorist Trap: America’s Experience with Terrorism/Jeffrey D. Simon.
Sitaraman, G. (2009). Counterinsurgency, the War on Terror, and the Laws of War. Va. L. Rev., 95, 1745.
Smith, M., & Zeigler, S. M. (2017). Terrorism before and after 9/11–a more dangerous world?. Research & Politics, 4(4), 2053168017739757. https://doi.org/10.1177%2F2053168017739757
Stephens, J., & Ottaway, D. B. (2002). From US, the ABC’s of jihad. Washington Post, 23, A01.
Steuter, E., & Wills, D. (2009). Discourses of Dehumanization: Enemy Construction and Canadian Media Complicity in the Framing of the War on Terror. Global Media Journal: Canadian Edition, 2(2).
Thorup, M. (2010). An intellectual history of terror: War, violence and the state. Routledge.
Umontuen, I. (2018). "Call School Shootings What They Really are: Acts of Domestic Terrorism." The Atlantic Voice, February 21.
Weimann, G. (2005). The theater of terror: The psychology of terrorism and the mass media. Journal of aggression, maltreatment & trauma, 9(3-4), 379-390. https://doi.org/10.1300/J146v09n03_08
Weinberg, L., Pedahzur, A., & Hirsch-Hoefler, S. (2004). The challenges of conceptualizing terrorism. Terrorism and Policical Violence, 16(4), 777-794. https://doi.org/10.1080/095465590899768
Wilkinson, D., & Gunnell, D. (2000). Youth suicide trends in Australian metropolitan and non-metropolitan areas, 1988–1997. Australian & New Zealand Journal of Psychiatry, 34(5), 822-828. https://doi.org/10.1080%2Fj.1440-1614.2000.00812.x
Young, R. (2006). Defining terrorism: The evolution of terrorism as a legal concept in international law and its influence on definitions in domestic legislation. BC Int'l & Comp. L. Rev., 29, 23.
Published
How to Cite
Issue
Section
Articles published in the International Research Journal of Management, IT and Social sciences (IRJMIS) are available under Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial No Derivatives Licence (CC BY-NC-ND 4.0). Authors retain copyright in their work and grant IRJMIS right of first publication under CC BY-NC-ND 4.0. Users have the right to read, download, copy, distribute, print, search, or link to the full texts of articles in this journal, and to use them for any other lawful purpose.
Articles published in IRJMIS can be copied, communicated and shared in their published form for non-commercial purposes provided full attribution is given to the author and the journal. Authors are able to enter into separate, additional contractual arrangements for the non-exclusive distribution of the journal's published version of the work (e.g., post it to an institutional repository or publish it in a book), with an acknowledgment of its initial publication in this journal.
This copyright notice applies to articles published in IRJMIS volumes 7 onwards. Please read about the copyright notices for previous volumes under Journal History.
