Failed Crusade: Afghanistan as Liberal Holy War in Presidential Discourse.

This paper argues that the twenty-year U.S. war in Afghanistan can persuasively be viewed as a holy war prosecuted on behalf of American-style liberalism. To make this argument, it develops a framework for understanding holy war as an issue of communication and draws on the work of Émile Durkheim, P...

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Detalles Bibliográficos
Publicado en:	Journal of Communication & Religion Vol. 45; no. 2; pp. 5 - 29
Autor principal:	Fowler, Randall
Formato:	Artículo
Publicado:	Religious Communication Association Summer2022
Materias:	Religious wars Afghan War, 2001-2021 Bush, George W. (George Walker), 1946- Durkheim, Émile, 1858-1917 Crusades (Middle Ages) Presidents of the United States United States armed forces Jihad United States presidential elections Afghanistan
Acceso en línea:	Ver este registro en EBSCOhost

Descripción
Sumario:	This paper argues that the twenty-year U.S. war in Afghanistan can persuasively be viewed as a holy war prosecuted on behalf of American-style liberalism. To make this argument, it develops a framework for understanding holy war as an issue of communication and draws on the work of Émile Durkheim, Patrick Deneen, James K. A. Smith, and Judith Shklar to situate liberalism as a religion. It then details how U.S. presidents proclaimed and prosecuted holy war in Afghanistan in five acts, showing how the conflict developed as a (liberal) religious war under Bush and continued until the August 2021 U.S. military withdrawal.