The "War on terrorism" discourses of the Bush and Obama administrations: An analysis within the framework of securitization theory

This research examines the war on terror policies of the US Presidents George W. Bush and Barack Obama through their National Security Strategies and selected public speeches, with the object of discovering the 'Referent Object(s)' and 'Existential Threat(s)' – the two most important aspects of securitization theory. Consistent with the core content of this theory, the present research claims that the concepts of reference objects and the threats to their existence have always been realized through the discursive political practices of securitizing actors. Referent objects are those persons, or impersonal objects that we must strive to protect and preserve. It is legitimate to use everything one needs to protect these reference objects, and it is important to take immediate actions. On the other hand, the Existential threat is the concept that is seen as an unprecedented danger that requires undertaking police immediately to block its development. The securitization theory claims that a threat must exist in order to securitize an issue, and that threat must be eliminated to sustain the existence of the referent object. Considering all the criteria of securitization theory, the current study argues that President Bush is a securitizing actor who has dramatically presented existential threats in an attempt to protect the reference object. On the other hand, President Obama's speeches do not make him a unanimous figure as a securitizing actor. The way he presented the so-called dangerous issues as a general political issue and described the existing situation in front of the people as a challenge and not a threat, it is possible he could be considered a partial desecuritizing actor. Considering that the identification of security threats is mostly realized through discourse, one of the most important elements within the framework of this thesis is to reach the discourses of the securitizing actors in each period analyzed. In this context, especially while analyzing the securitization politics of each period, the national security strategies of that period (published in 2002, 2006, 2010 and 2015) are also examined. Along with the important discourses of the presidents, the discourses of the statesmen who are close to them are also discussed. While President Bush has been found to strongly securitize various individuals, groups, and issues and raise public opinion against these individuals, groups, and issues, President Obama's speeches have been found as the opposite. It has been discovered that a particular individual, group or issue is not so strongly securitized, but sometimes attempts are made to desecuritize a relatively less frightening issue that had been securitized by the previous regime.