Framing the Threat

5 Mode of Conduct

Whereas the discussion above set out the theoretical foundations of this book, this chapter presents the mode of conduct applied in the analysis undertaken in Chapter 6 and 7. As noted above, language is an essential constitutive of reality as “talking is undoubtedly the most important way that we go about making the world what it is” (Onuf 1998: 59). Language is not neutral in its deployment since it (re-)produces reality in a certain way and thus produces certain preconditions and provides latitude for particular actions. Therefore, discourse analysis is the appropriate approach for investigation due to its focus on the connection between language use and political action.

Although the attacks of September 11, 2001 were ‘real’ ...