The "twisted cyber spy" affair began in 2010, when Google was attacked by Chinese cyber-warriors charged with stealing Google's intellectual property, planting viruses in its computers, and hacking the accounts of Chinese human rights activists. In the ensuing international embroglio, the US mainstream press, corporate leaders, and White…

Examines the Reagan administration's crisis rhetoric after the Soviet Union shot down Korean Air Lines Flight 007 in September 1983. Asserts that errors in argumentation strategy undermined the American position, raising doubts about U.S. complicity in the incident, and enabling the Soviet Union to present a plausible explanation for its action.…

Examines the way competing interpretations of evidence form the basis for arguments over appropriate defense postures. Indicates that it is only as participants in a policy dispute move to develop validity standards appropriate to the particular dispute that resolution becomes possible. (MS)

Identifies the characteristics of rhetoric in American justification for war and the portrayal of the enemy as a savage aggressor. Discusses the use of contrasts--force and freedom, irrationality and rationality, aggression and defense--to generate values which subordinate the ideal of peace to the necessity of preserving freedom. (JMF)

Investigates the underlying rhetorical functions of how Benjamin Franklin used the medal to praise the national characters of France and the United States in those two countries, while he also used it to influence government policy in Malta and to vindicate himself from criticism in England. (KEH)

Argues that the use of historical events as rhetorical artifacts has sustained cold war assumptions and attitudes; that rhetorical events provide composites for rhetorical histories which become the basis for argumentative appeals; and that these rhetorical histories continue to permeate American diplomacy in general and arms negotiations in…

Comments on an article by Eidelson and Eidelson (see record 2003-03645-004) which made an important contribution, at a critical juncture, to the discussion of international conflicts by identifying core dimensions that allow for the systematic examination of the problem. Their article also posed a danger that mirrors a disturbing trend in the…

The shooting down of KAL Flight 007, a South Korean airliner, by a Soviet jet fighter, and the resulting deaths of the 269 people on board, has brought into focus the Reagan's administration's equivocal relationship with the Soviet Union, provided insights into the channels of power in the Soviet military hierarchy, and led other nations to…

Analysis of Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi's philosophy and rhetoric during a particular campaign for social change will show that his strategies for social change, commonly referred to as "Satyagraha," are rooted in a unique rhetorical perspective. Gandhi repeatedly warned against the use of violent speech and acts, and he has prescribed…

Noting that rhetorical critics have ignored the study of nonwestern movements and have failed to construct theories that help to explain and interpret the rhetorical form of such movements, this paper synthesizes concepts from rhetorical theory and anthropology to explain the linguistic process that made up the 1978 Israeli peace movement. The…

Examines samples from public discourse during the period 1961-1989, which reveal several different symbolic uses of the Berlin Wall. Suggests these differences reflect the never-completed struggle between the United States and the Soviet Union. (KEH)

In 1978, the historic Camp David Peace Accords between Egypt and Israel were signed in a ceremony broadcast from the White House. The ceremony may be seen as a member of a rhetorical genre informally called the Presidential Parasocial Broadcast Announcement, but with a new twist. The genre has its roots in the Fireside Chats of Franklin D.…

Corazon Aquino's appearance before the U.S. Congress provides an opportunity for the rhetorical critic to study (1) how the form of speech--particularly the romantic form--enabled Aquino to establish the legitimacy of her claims as President of the Philippines; (2) how she used her role as Benigno Aquino's widow to complete the romantic myth; and…

A study examined reports broadcast by ABC News between November 8, 1979 and December 7, 1979 in its series entitled "Crisis in Iran: America Held Hostage." Transcripts of approximately 50% of actual broadcasts were subjected to rhetorical critical analysis, from which the finding emerged that confusion was the predominant characteristic…

American foreign policy must operate within the parameters of public opinion, and governmental and non-governmental actors must educate the characteristically alienated citizenry concerning policy issues. Since rational discourse is of limited benefit in the process, advocates instead use verbal representations or metaphor to instill within the…