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Political Legitimacy and Celebrity Politicians : Tony Blair as Middle East Envoy 2007–2015

Pace, Michelle and Bergman Rosamond, Annika LU (2018) In Middle East Critique 27(4). p.383-398
Abstract

After Tony Blair resigned as the United Kingdom’s prime minster in June 2007, he was appointed as the official envoy of the Quartet on the Middle East. His appointment was marred with controversy not the least with regard to his suitability for the role and his performance as peace envoy, with many observers questioning his ethical credentials. The EU along with the US, Russia and the UN make up the Quartet and funded Blair’s office until 2012. With the US and the EU as the key regional players in this conflict, Blair became an embodiment of these players in this specific role. This article employs critical discourse analysis to nuance whether Tony Blair’s role as Middle East envoy, and as an embodiment of the EU, was indeed a... (More)

After Tony Blair resigned as the United Kingdom’s prime minster in June 2007, he was appointed as the official envoy of the Quartet on the Middle East. His appointment was marred with controversy not the least with regard to his suitability for the role and his performance as peace envoy, with many observers questioning his ethical credentials. The EU along with the US, Russia and the UN make up the Quartet and funded Blair’s office until 2012. With the US and the EU as the key regional players in this conflict, Blair became an embodiment of these players in this specific role. This article employs critical discourse analysis to nuance whether Tony Blair’s role as Middle East envoy, and as an embodiment of the EU, was indeed a legitimate one in terms of achieving at least some of its stated aims, particularly those pertaining to the Palestinians who live under Israel’s colonization. It does so by engaging with the work of John Street and more broadly the literature on celebrity politicians and by counterbalancing this conceptual framework with a critical reflection on Blair’s time as Middle East envoy.

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author
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organization
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type
Contribution to journal
publication status
published
subject
keywords
Celebrity, celebrity politician, critical discourse analysis: Israel, Middle East envoy, occupied Palestinian territories, Palestine
in
Middle East Critique
volume
27
issue
4
pages
383 - 398
publisher
Routledge
external identifiers
  • scopus:85056122857
ISSN
1943-6149
DOI
10.1080/19436149.2018.1516336
language
English
LU publication?
yes
id
a4b6a58c-1eb4-47b5-b32d-9a2da85c5a09
date added to LUP
2018-11-23 08:58:11
date last changed
2022-04-25 19:24:18
@article{a4b6a58c-1eb4-47b5-b32d-9a2da85c5a09,
  abstract     = {{<p>After Tony Blair resigned as the United Kingdom’s prime minster in June 2007, he was appointed as the official envoy of the Quartet on the Middle East. His appointment was marred with controversy not the least with regard to his suitability for the role and his performance as peace envoy, with many observers questioning his ethical credentials. The EU along with the US, Russia and the UN make up the Quartet and funded Blair’s office until 2012. With the US and the EU as the key regional players in this conflict, Blair became an embodiment of these players in this specific role. This article employs critical discourse analysis to nuance whether Tony Blair’s role as Middle East envoy, and as an embodiment of the EU, was indeed a legitimate one in terms of achieving at least some of its stated aims, particularly those pertaining to the Palestinians who live under Israel’s colonization. It does so by engaging with the work of John Street and more broadly the literature on celebrity politicians and by counterbalancing this conceptual framework with a critical reflection on Blair’s time as Middle East envoy.</p>}},
  author       = {{Pace, Michelle and Bergman Rosamond, Annika}},
  issn         = {{1943-6149}},
  keywords     = {{Celebrity; celebrity politician; critical discourse analysis: Israel; Middle East envoy; occupied Palestinian territories; Palestine}},
  language     = {{eng}},
  number       = {{4}},
  pages        = {{383--398}},
  publisher    = {{Routledge}},
  series       = {{Middle East Critique}},
  title        = {{Political Legitimacy and Celebrity Politicians : Tony Blair as Middle East Envoy 2007–2015}},
  url          = {{http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/19436149.2018.1516336}},
  doi          = {{10.1080/19436149.2018.1516336}},
  volume       = {{27}},
  year         = {{2018}},
}