The myth of the Red Line : an international relations analysis of the Obama administration’s argumentation for and against a military intervention in Syria
(2018) MRSK62 20181Human Rights Studies
- Abstract
- This paper aims to examine the arguments proposed by the Obama administration regarding a U.S. military intervention in Syria due to the use of chemical weapons by the Syrian regime in 2013. During his presidency, Obama stated that the He draws a ‘red line’ at the use of chemical weapons against civilians, but the threat proved to be empty a year later when thousands of people were killed in a chemical weapons attack in a Damascus suburb and the Syrian regime were found guilty of the deed. Obama firstly suggested and tried to legitimize a limited military operation in Syria, but then shifted his stance entirely and instead, tried to delegitimize his own former stance. By collecting arguments from speeches, interviews and such made by the... (More)
- This paper aims to examine the arguments proposed by the Obama administration regarding a U.S. military intervention in Syria due to the use of chemical weapons by the Syrian regime in 2013. During his presidency, Obama stated that the He draws a ‘red line’ at the use of chemical weapons against civilians, but the threat proved to be empty a year later when thousands of people were killed in a chemical weapons attack in a Damascus suburb and the Syrian regime were found guilty of the deed. Obama firstly suggested and tried to legitimize a limited military operation in Syria, but then shifted his stance entirely and instead, tried to delegitimize his own former stance. By collecting arguments from speeches, interviews and such made by the former president Barack Obama and some of the closest people in his staff, the research aims to recognize what kind of arguments were being used. The arguments are extracted and structured according to Arne Naess’ argumentation analysis, followed by a set of research questions to apply the theoretical framework. The theories consists of international relations theories as well as Aristotle’s three types of arguments - ethos, pathos and logos. The results of the research are then discussed and concluded and eventually finds what a noticeable shift of the arguments’ nature was made. (Less)
- Popular Abstract (Swedish)
- Denna syftar till att undersöka de argument som Obama-administrationen uttryckte angående ett amerikanskt militärt ingripande i Syrien till följd av de syriska regimens användning av kemiska vapen år 2013. Under sitt presidentskap uppgav Obama att USA drar en "röd linje" vid användade av kemiska vapen mot civila, men hotet visade sig vara tomt ett år senare när tusentals människor dödades i en förort till Damaskus och den syriska regimen befanns vara skyldig i gärningen. Obama föreslog och försökte först argumentera för att legitimera en begränsad militär operation i Syrien, men ändrade sedan sin ståndpunkt helt och argumenterade mer eller mindre emot sin egen tidigare hållning. Genom att samla argument från tal, intervjuer och liknande... (More)
- Denna syftar till att undersöka de argument som Obama-administrationen uttryckte angående ett amerikanskt militärt ingripande i Syrien till följd av de syriska regimens användning av kemiska vapen år 2013. Under sitt presidentskap uppgav Obama att USA drar en "röd linje" vid användade av kemiska vapen mot civila, men hotet visade sig vara tomt ett år senare när tusentals människor dödades i en förort till Damaskus och den syriska regimen befanns vara skyldig i gärningen. Obama föreslog och försökte först argumentera för att legitimera en begränsad militär operation i Syrien, men ändrade sedan sin ståndpunkt helt och argumenterade mer eller mindre emot sin egen tidigare hållning. Genom att samla argument från tal, intervjuer och liknande gjorda av den före-detta presidenten Barack Obama och några av de närmaste personerna i hans stab, syftar denna uppsats till att identifiera vilken typ av argument som användes. Argumenten utvinns och struktureras enligt Arne Naess argumentationsanalys, följt av en uppsättning forskningsfrågor för att tillämpa den teoretiska ramen. Teorierna består av teorier inom internationella relationer samt Aristoteles tre typer av argument - etos, patos och logotyper. Resultaten av forskningen diskuteras och avslutas sedan och i kommer fram till att en märkbar förändring av argumentationen och dess natur gjordes. (Less)
Please use this url to cite or link to this publication:
http://lup.lub.lu.se/student-papers/record/8956449
- author
- Hasan, Ronja LU
- supervisor
- organization
- course
- MRSK62 20181
- year
- 2018
- type
- M2 - Bachelor Degree
- subject
- keywords
- International relations, International relations theories, Barack Obama, The Obama administration, Military intervention, Syria, Argumentation analysis, Ideological analysis
- language
- English
- id
- 8956449
- date added to LUP
- 2018-10-12 15:25:11
- date last changed
- 2018-10-12 15:25:11
@misc{8956449,
abstract = {{This paper aims to examine the arguments proposed by the Obama administration regarding a U.S. military intervention in Syria due to the use of chemical weapons by the Syrian regime in 2013. During his presidency, Obama stated that the He draws a ‘red line’ at the use of chemical weapons against civilians, but the threat proved to be empty a year later when thousands of people were killed in a chemical weapons attack in a Damascus suburb and the Syrian regime were found guilty of the deed. Obama firstly suggested and tried to legitimize a limited military operation in Syria, but then shifted his stance entirely and instead, tried to delegitimize his own former stance. By collecting arguments from speeches, interviews and such made by the former president Barack Obama and some of the closest people in his staff, the research aims to recognize what kind of arguments were being used. The arguments are extracted and structured according to Arne Naess’ argumentation analysis, followed by a set of research questions to apply the theoretical framework. The theories consists of international relations theories as well as Aristotle’s three types of arguments - ethos, pathos and logos. The results of the research are then discussed and concluded and eventually finds what a noticeable shift of the arguments’ nature was made.}},
author = {{Hasan, Ronja}},
language = {{eng}},
note = {{Student Paper}},
title = {{The myth of the Red Line : an international relations analysis of the Obama administration’s argumentation for and against a military intervention in Syria}},
year = {{2018}},
}