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The rhetorical transformation of Soviet/American war rhetoric in the U.N. Security Council
Abstract
When the Soviet Union sent troops into Afghanistan in 1979 and the United States sent troops into Grenada in 1983, each justified its military action, and each denounced the other's military action before the United Nations Security Council. In the process of justification and denouncement, each created narratives embedded with motives to rhetorically transform its historical and value laden ideology into good reasons for action. This study draws upon three perspectives: Walter R. Fisher's concept of narrative, Phillip Wander's concept of ideological criticism, and Kenneth Burke's concept of dramatism, to uncover the values manifesting the ideological grounding of the narratives. The influence of the United Nations Charter is demonstrated in these articulated positions, as each draws upon national and United Nations' values to construct narratives with fidelity and coherence. In the rhetorical justification each nation grounds its narrative in United Nations' values, but allows historical rivalry and national values to the United Nations Charter. By pitting purpose against purpose, the denouncer cast the military action in violation of the values espoused in the Charter. The rhetorical transformation of war rhetoric embedded with United Nations' values establishes narratives with fidelity and coherence for the United Nations Security Council. For a United Nations representative to ignore these values, is to denounce the organization which allows for multilateral dialogue with most nations of the world.
Subject Area
Communication|International law|International relations
Recommended Citation
Boyd, Richard Edward, "The rhetorical transformation of Soviet/American war rhetoric in the U.N. Security Council" (1987). ETD collection for University of Nebraska-Lincoln. AAI8803742.
https://digitalcommons.unl.edu/dissertations/AAI8803742