The Past as Political Terrain: How National Leaders Navigate Memories of 9/11

IF 4.6 1区 社会学 Q1 COMMUNICATION
Jill A. Edy, T. Adams
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引用次数: 1

Abstract

ABSTRACT Political leaders construct meanings for current events in support of their existing policy goals, but the constructed meanings do not change when policy goals change. Consequently, the established narrative of the past becomes part of the policymaking terrain, justifying existing policies and creating criteria for policy success. It must be navigated by leaders seeking to reach their policy objectives. References made by U.S. and Israeli political leaders to the event known as “9/11” from 2002 through 2019 reveal how they renegotiated its meaning as their policy goals evolved. Policy goals at the time of the event shaped the meanings made of the event. As policy goals changed, existing meanings could not be discarded or reshaped at will, nor could 9/11 simply be forgotten. Instead, leaders navigated and amended the inescapable public memory of 9/11 to support varying policy goals over a 20-year time span. For Israel, 9/11 made a chronic problem an international cause célèbre, offering potential to generate international response to a commonly marginalized threat, a narrative prime ministers sought to adapt as their policy goals changed. In the U.S. the George W. Bush Administration’s narrative of 9/11 promoted and sustained the administration’s policies and goals, making it difficult for Barack Obama’s administration to change course unless it could tell a different story. Both cases demonstrate that arguments made for or against policies are contingent upon how the past is narrated. Collective remembrance can affect the contours of public policy, for the remembered past constitutes the terrain of policymaking.
作为政治地形的过去:国家领导人如何驾驭9/11的记忆
摘要政治领导人为当前事件构建意义,以支持他们现有的政策目标,但当政策目标改变时,构建的意义不会改变。因此,对过去的既定叙述成为决策领域的一部分,为现有政策辩护,并为政策成功制定标准。它必须由寻求实现其政策目标的领导人来驾驭。美国和以色列政治领导人提到2002年至2019年的“9/11”事件,揭示了他们是如何随着政策目标的演变而重新谈判其含义的。事件发生时的政策目标决定了事件的意义。随着政策目标的改变,现有的含义不能随意丢弃或重塑,9/11也不能简单地被遗忘。相反,领导人驾驭并修正了公众对9/11不可避免的记忆,以支持20年来不同的政策目标。对以色列来说,9/11使一个长期存在的问题成为一项国际事业,为国际社会应对一种普遍被边缘化的威胁提供了潜力,总理们试图随着政策目标的变化而适应这种说法。在美国,乔治·W·布什政府对9/11的叙述促进并维持了政府的政策和目标,这使得巴拉克·奥巴马政府很难改变方向,除非它能讲述一个不同的故事。这两起案件都表明,支持或反对政策的论点取决于过去的叙述方式。集体记忆可以影响公共政策的轮廓,因为被记忆的过去构成了政策制定的领域。
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来源期刊
CiteScore
13.90
自引率
2.70%
发文量
30
期刊介绍: Political Communication is a quarterly international journal showcasing state-of-the-art, theory-driven empirical research at the nexus of politics and communication. Its broad scope addresses swiftly evolving dynamics and urgent policy considerations globally. The journal embraces diverse research methodologies and analytical perspectives aimed at advancing comprehension of political communication practices, processes, content, effects, and policy implications. Regular symposium issues delve deeply into key thematic areas.
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