JUST WAR AND THE RHETORIC OF IMPERIALISM IN THE 21ST CENTURY AN ANALYSIS OF OBAMA'S POLITICAL VOCABULARY (2008-2014)
Article Sidebar
Main Article Content
Abstract
This research aims to analyze the centrality of the concept of Just War to Eurocentric political thought, reflecting on how this idea acted as a justification for the advancement of imperialism at different moments. The category, which emerged in Antiquity and was developed in the medieval and modern periods, was mobilized in the 21st century by Obama in his Nobel Peace Prize acceptance speech in 2009 and was, throughout his administration, directly associated with a process of softening the discourses of imperialism after Bush. By analyzing the Nobel Peace Prize speech based on its narrative objectives and its construction through opposing pairs, this study seeks to gain a deeper understanding of the construction of Obama's political vocabulary and the mobilization undertaken in the context of the US imperialism's credibility crisis, wherein the concept of Just War directly served to justify the maintenance and advancement of the country's military actions.
Article Details
Section
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.
Authors will maintain copyright and cede the journal the right to publish, unde license Creative Commons-NonCommercial-NoDerivs Attribution 2.0 Generic.
Authors are responsible for textual content, taking into consideration that the journal uses anti-plagiarism tool and adheres to the ethical guidelines for publication of the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE), the Code of Ethics American Educational Research Association (AERA), the Code of Good Scientific Practice - FAPESP, and the Council of Science Editors (CSE).
For translated articles or those in foreign languages, please contact the responsible editors to avoid conflicts of copyright policy regarding publication.
How to Cite
Share
References
Ali, T. (2002). Confronto de fundamentalismos: cruzadas, jihads e modernidade. Record.
Ali, T. (2010). The Obama syndrome. Verso Books.
Amin, S. (2021). O eurocentrismo: crítica de uma ideologia. Lavrapalavra.
Barkawi, T., & Laffey, M. (1999). The imperial peace: Democracy, force and globalization. European Journal of International Relations, 5(4), 403–434.
Bellamy, A. J. (2005). Is the War on Terror Just? International Relations, 19(3), 275–296.
Cicero. (1991). On duties. Cambridge University Press.
Clausewitz, C. (2010). Da guerra (3ª ed.). Martins Fontes.
Cruz, S. (2012). Os Estados Unidos no desconcerto do mundo: ensaios de interpretação. Editora Unesp.
Davies, W. (2014). The limits of neoliberalism: Authority, sovereignty and the logic of competition. Sage.
Fiori, J. L. (2018a). Prefácio — Guerra do Golfo: uma guerra ética. In J. L. Fiori (Org.), Sobre a guerra (pp. 13–20). Vozes.
Fiori, J. L. (2018b). Dialética da guerra e da paz. In J. L. Fiori (Org.), Sobre a guerra (pp. 75-102). Vozes.
Greimas, A. J. (1983). Structural semantics. University of Nebraska Press.
Hansen, L. (2006). Security as practice: discourse analysis and the Bosnian war. Routledge.
Kant, I. (2020). À paz perpétua. Vozes.
Leite, L., & Resende, E. (2023). The construction of threats and enemies in US presidential discourses (1993-2013). Topoi, 24(52), p. 103–130.
Lênin, V. I (1985). Guerras justas e injustas. Edições Progresso.
Lênin, V. I. (2012). Imperialismo, estágio superior do capitalismo. Expressão Popular.
Losurdo, D. (2010). A linguagem do império: léxico da ideologia estadunidense. Boitempo.
Moniz Bandeira, L. A. (2021). A desordem mundial: o espectro da total dominação. Civilização Brasileira.
Moniz Bandeira, L. A. (2011). Brasil-Estados Unidos: a rivalidade emergente (1950-1988). Civilização Brasileira.
Obama, B. (2009, December 10). Full speech: Obama accepts Nobel Peace Prize. ABC News. https://abcnews.go.com/Politics/obama-accepts-nobel-peace-prize-full-speech/story?id=9299766
Snauwaert, D. (2004). The Bush Doctrine and Just War Theory. OJPCR: The Online Journal of Peace and Conflict Resolution, 6(1), 121-135.
The Nobel Prize. (2025). Full text of Alfred Nobel’s will. NobelPrize.org. Nobel Prize Outreach 2025. Wed. 10 Dec 2025. https://www.nobelprize.org/alfred-nobel/full-text-of-alfred-nobels-will-2/
Whetham, D. (2023). A tradição da guerra justa: um compromisso pragmático. Classica — Revista Brasileira de Estudos Clássicos, [S. l.], 36, 1–14.
Zortéa Vieira, R. (2021). A Guerra do Paraguai e a “Paz de Assunção” de 1872. In J. L. Fiori. Sobre a paz. Vozes (pp. 268-288).