An interpretation of global terrorism (the Bush years 2001-2008) and considerations for peace

Abstract

September 11, 2001 was a defining moment in world history; the events of that day ushered in what has been described as "global terrorism", a phenomenon that precipitated the United States led invasion of Afghanistan and Iraq urging us to believe that the War on Terror could be the only pragmatic response to this kind of Islamic fundamentalist based militancy. This thesis investigates the part played by the West in the emergence of global terrorism and posits that dialogue in its differing manifestations is the optimum method of transforming this kind of political violence into a sustainable peace. It will be seen how the modernity of the West has brought exploitation and marginalisation to Islamic cultures and countries. Postmodernism and Postcolonialism, intellectual movements that critically review the dominant discourse of modernity, are therefore used as a lens through which to view and deconstruct global terrorism. Knowledge and power, viewed differently to the modern outlook, allows analysis to take on new directions and reveals to what degree the construction of knowledge and interpretation of terrorism has been governed by powerful players and forces in the context of modernist and neoconservative thought. In concert with Postmodernism and Postcolonialism, critical discourse analyses (CDAs) are performed on selected texts of George W. Bush and Osama bin Laden to form the central analysis of the thesis.