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Echoes of the Other: Deconstructing Julius Caesar’s and George W. Bush’s enemy portrayals of ´Barbarians’ and ‘Islamic terrorists’.

Kylberg, Paola LU (2024) FKVK02 20241
Department of Political Science
Abstract
This thesis investigates how prominent political leaders construct perceptions of enemies during conflict. Using Schmitt’s Concept of the Political as a starting point, the study explores Julius Caesar’s and George W. Bush’s enemy portrayal of ‘Barbarians’ and ‘Islamic terrorists’. Utilizing a Thematic Analysis, the thesis has explored and compared the narratives of the two leaders during conflict in their works : “De Bello Gallico” and “Decision Points”; through themes built on Schmitt’s ideas on enemy constructions. By means of this process, persistent and complex forms of enemy narratives have been underlined. This has been done with the purpose of contributing to the field of Critical Terrorism Studies by problematizing binary... (More)
This thesis investigates how prominent political leaders construct perceptions of enemies during conflict. Using Schmitt’s Concept of the Political as a starting point, the study explores Julius Caesar’s and George W. Bush’s enemy portrayal of ‘Barbarians’ and ‘Islamic terrorists’. Utilizing a Thematic Analysis, the thesis has explored and compared the narratives of the two leaders during conflict in their works : “De Bello Gallico” and “Decision Points”; through themes built on Schmitt’s ideas on enemy constructions. By means of this process, persistent and complex forms of enemy narratives have been underlined. This has been done with the purpose of contributing to the field of Critical Terrorism Studies by problematizing binary narratives in contemporary counter-terrorism narratives. The study’s findings suggest a more absolute form of delineation with the enemy in Bush’s narrative, implying evolving power structures and hardening narratives. Conclusively, the study underlines the power of strategic political narratives in delineating groups as evil or immoral and argues for a more holistic approach to strongly antagonistic enemy constructions as they hinder any form of peace negotiation. (Less)
Please use this url to cite or link to this publication:
author
Kylberg, Paola LU
supervisor
organization
course
FKVK02 20241
year
type
M2 - Bachelor Degree
subject
keywords
Friend/enemy dichotomy, enemy portrayal, narratives, otherness, counter-terrorism
language
English
id
9153879
date added to LUP
2024-07-18 14:05:38
date last changed
2024-07-18 14:05:38
@misc{9153879,
  abstract     = {{This thesis investigates how prominent political leaders construct perceptions of enemies during conflict. Using Schmitt’s Concept of the Political as a starting point, the study explores Julius Caesar’s and George W. Bush’s enemy portrayal of ‘Barbarians’ and ‘Islamic terrorists’. Utilizing a Thematic Analysis, the thesis has explored and compared the narratives of the two leaders during conflict in their works : “De Bello Gallico” and “Decision Points”; through themes built on Schmitt’s ideas on enemy constructions. By means of this process, persistent and complex forms of enemy narratives have been underlined. This has been done with the purpose of contributing to the field of Critical Terrorism Studies by problematizing binary narratives in contemporary counter-terrorism narratives. The study’s findings suggest a more absolute form of delineation with the enemy in Bush’s narrative, implying evolving power structures and hardening narratives. Conclusively, the study underlines the power of strategic political narratives in delineating groups as evil or immoral and argues for a more holistic approach to strongly antagonistic enemy constructions as they hinder any form of peace negotiation.}},
  author       = {{Kylberg, Paola}},
  language     = {{eng}},
  note         = {{Student Paper}},
  title        = {{Echoes of the Other: Deconstructing Julius Caesar’s and George W. Bush’s enemy portrayals of ´Barbarians’ and ‘Islamic terrorists’.}},
  year         = {{2024}},
}