Donald Trump has frequently been labelled an idiosyncratic aberration and has equally been accused of breaking with American foreign policy tradition. However, by applying the foreign policy...Show moreDonald Trump has frequently been labelled an idiosyncratic aberration and has equally been accused of breaking with American foreign policy tradition. However, by applying the foreign policy traditions uncovered by Mead (Wilsonianism, Hamiltonianism, Jeffersonianism and Jacksonianism), scholars began arguing that Trump was perfectly traditional because he adhered to one or more of these historic traditions. Simultaneously, scholars argued that Trump rejected the myth of American exceptionalism that informs said traditions. This begs the question of how one can be traditional, yet also reject their foundational myth. Scholars had failed to consider these two facets in tandem, and had only focussed on Trump’s campaign and early presidency therefore failing to provide a prudent analysis of Trump’s entire foreign policy. This thesis aimed to rectified both by asking the following question: how has Trump’s re-interpretation of American exceptionalism influenced the utilisation of the dominant traditions in American foreign policy in his foreign policy discourse? Through the use of a critical geopolitical analysis, it was uncovered that Trump redefined American exceptionalism to an conditional state of objective greatness that only he could achieve and maintain, rather than an inherent trait. This allowed him to argue that his predecessors had made America unexceptional, stirring feelings of betrayal that he could then mobilise for his own political gain. This demagogic ‘exceptional me 2.0’ strategy shaped his application of all the four traditions wherein he blames Wilsonianism for American decline and aims to rally disappointed Hamiltonians, Jeffersonians and Jacksonians against them in order to effectuate a great reset of American foreign policy and domestic politics.Show less
It is often assumed that all manipulation of truth follows a similar format. However, an examination of the way that ‘post-truth politics,’ the strategies, politicians and communities that...Show moreIt is often assumed that all manipulation of truth follows a similar format. However, an examination of the way that ‘post-truth politics,’ the strategies, politicians and communities that consciously manipulate facts to alter the ‘truth’ of their audience for political gains, and historiographic metafiction, a genre of postmodern literary texts that interpret history while simultaneously critically assessing and questioning the ‘truth’ they construct in their interpretation, shows that both post-truth politics and historiographic metafiction manipulate truth for completely different purposes. Yet, little research has been done on how these manipulations of truth work and how they differ. This thesis studies how truth is manipulated in post-truth politics and historiographic metafiction respectively, how these manipulations differ and overlap and what this means for future research on neutralizing or repurposing the manipulation of truth by post-truth politics.Show less
This thesis discusses the potential connections between hate crime and xenophobia in the United States during the first two years of Donald Trump’s presidency. Drawing upon the academic debate on...Show moreThis thesis discusses the potential connections between hate crime and xenophobia in the United States during the first two years of Donald Trump’s presidency. Drawing upon the academic debate on violence and the potential connections between different levels of violence, this thesis aims to contribute by researching the potential connections between a form of structural violence and a form direct violence. Through an analysis of White House documents and the FBI’s hate crime statistics, this study has sought to discuss the influence of Trump’s political xenophobia towards Arabs and Latinos on the number of hate crime incidents with either Arab or Latino victims. The case studies have illustrated that there is clear correlation between political xenophobia and hate crime towards Arabs and Latinos in the US, as the number of hate crimes towards these group increased after periods of clear xenophobic sentiment from the Trump administration. This thesis, therefore, argues in favor of a broader approach to the concept of violence, as acknowledging the true width of violence in societies is the only way to eradicate it.Show less
Politicians frequently use rhetoric language to refer to immigrants. Regularly, metaphors are used to dehumanise immigrants. This research analyses any potential dehumanising metaphors found in...Show morePoliticians frequently use rhetoric language to refer to immigrants. Regularly, metaphors are used to dehumanise immigrants. This research analyses any potential dehumanising metaphors found in Donald Trump’s Nomination Acceptance Speech. Using the Metaphor Identification Procedure Vrije Universiteit (MIPVU) to locate any possible metaphor-related words, the metaphors are categorised and evaluated. The discovered metaphors are most frequently categorised as animal or containment. Donald Trump evidently uses dehumanising metaphors to refer to metaphors in his Acceptance Speech.Show less
This thesis sets out to explore the ways in which coverage of President Trump’s border wall in late-night political satire challenges geopolitical representations of Latin America and Mexico. In...Show moreThis thesis sets out to explore the ways in which coverage of President Trump’s border wall in late-night political satire challenges geopolitical representations of Latin America and Mexico. In doing so, it establishes the border wall as a product of securitization practices that were fueled by a constructed geopolitical imagery of Mexico and Latin America. However, the case study shows that televised political satire reshapes this threatening image by desecuritizing the issue of migration. Bringing together critical geopolitics, political satire, and critical security studies, this thesis fills a gap in literature by demonstrating that political satire can, and should, be taken seriously as an object of study for the field of critical geopolitics and International Relations, more broadly.Show less
In recent years, the debate on the question whether English should become the sole official language of the United States (USA) is widespread. English-Only movements have emerged, also known as...Show moreIn recent years, the debate on the question whether English should become the sole official language of the United States (USA) is widespread. English-Only movements have emerged, also known as Official English Movements. Such movements try to establish English as the only official language and also believe that the protection of English is necessary, due to the arrival of a large number of immigrants with other first languages. The U.S. English organization says that it is not against people who speak other languages, but is against the idea of the government working in other languages, because it allegedly divides the country. At the moment, Donald Trump has also been shaping up as a fierce supporter of the English-Only Movement. This study focuses on the impact of English-Only movements on attitudes towards Spanish, given that the Spanish-speaking population forms an increasingly important group in the US, both in economic and political terms. There are many social factors that influence attitudes towards languages. The question is to what extent President Donald Trump and the English-Only Movements contribute to these attitudes regarding the Spanish language and the corresponding alleged discrimination. This study analyzes whether the English-Only Movements negatively influence the perceived status of Spanish.Show less
The traditional hierarchy within the study of rhetoric changed with the introduction of the digital age. The Internet, and social media services such as Twitter in particular, have become so deeply...Show moreThe traditional hierarchy within the study of rhetoric changed with the introduction of the digital age. The Internet, and social media services such as Twitter in particular, have become so deeply integrated with our daily lives that we unconsciously have started to adapt to the very principle that characterizes the digital world: less is more. This paper investigates the theory that emotions now outweigh the importance of facts, and uses the recent victory of Donald Trump in the 2016 US Presidential Elections to illustrate this. It analyses 52 of Trump’s tweets, collected from both his campaign period and the first year of his presidency to support the claim that pathos has become the leading force in today’s rhetoric. Simultaneously, this paper suggests that that the reason why 140-character messages were able to dethrone years’ worth of studies is embedded in the concept of post-truth, and comments on the extent to which the Internet and social media are already capable of both influencing and giving shape to our thoughts.Show less
Reputation has played a significant role in both the presidencies of Donald Trump and Gerald Ford. This thesis will examine the role of reputation for honesty and reputation for resolve in the...Show moreReputation has played a significant role in both the presidencies of Donald Trump and Gerald Ford. This thesis will examine the role of reputation for honesty and reputation for resolve in the foreign policy towards North Korea of both President Trump and President Ford. By scrutinizing North Korean provocations, such as the Panmunjom Axe Murder Incident and the death of Otto Warmbier, the role of reputation in the changing foreign policy towards North Korea of both presidents will be identified and compared.Show less
This thesis uses the Just World Hypothesis and theories of charismatic leadership in order to explore the similarities and differences in the electoral campaigns of Richard Nixon in 1968 and Donald...Show moreThis thesis uses the Just World Hypothesis and theories of charismatic leadership in order to explore the similarities and differences in the electoral campaigns of Richard Nixon in 1968 and Donald Trump in 2016, focusing especially on the self-made man narrative, the use of media and the use of scapegoats.Show less
