The Rhetorical Invention of America's National Security State
By (author) Marouf Hasian Jr., Sean Lawson, Megan D. McFarlane
Not available to order
Publication date:
29 July 2015Length of book:
310 pagesPublisher
Lexington BooksISBN-13: 9781498505093
The Rhetorical Invention of America’s National Security State examines the rhetoric and discourse produced by and constitutive of America’s national security state. Hasian, Lawson, and McFarlane illustrate the importance of rhetoric to the expansion of the American national security state in the post-9/11 era through their examination of the global war on terrorism, enhanced interrogation techniques, drone crew stress, activities of Edward Snowden, rise of Special Forces, and popular representations of counterterrorism. The coauthors contend this expansion was not the result of lone, imperial executives or a nefarious state within a state, but was co-produced by elite and non-elite Americans alike who not only condoned, but also in many cases demanded, the expansion of the national security state. This work will be of interest to scholars in communication studies and political science.
While a number of recent books have focused on the rhetorics and technologies of homeland security, few have so skillfully shown that the “national security state” is not just the work of politicians and intelligence agencies—it has also relied on the complicity of pundits, scientific experts, hackers, academics, military bureaucrats, and everyday citizens. This valuable book provides an insightful, blow-by-blow account of how the Global War on Terror has crept into the American homeland.