“Make No Mistake—This was a Terrorist Attack”: Examining the Discursive Construction of Terrorism in Canada
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'Terrorism' has been a mainstream discussion since the early 2000s. Though much academic and government research has been produced on the subject, consistent and appropriate application of the term seems to be elusive. As a result, the modern incarnation of the word carries baggage of the event that inspired its political appropriation and relies on synonyms to maneuver the limitations of legal definitions. I use critical discourse analysis to explore how terrorism and terrorist identity have been discursively constructed in the 2017 Public Report on the Terrorist Threat to Canada and its predecessors. My analysis suggests that this series of reports strategically manipulates Canadian readers by artificially inflating the 'terrorist threat' and securitizing policies and Canadians themselves. The 'war on terror' narrative persists as the difference between 'political' and 'legal' terrorism becomes increasingly unclear. These findings indicate the need for further discursive analysis of the politicization of terror in Canada.
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Copyright © 2018 the author(s). Theses may be used for non-commercial research, educational, or related academic purposes only. Such uses include personal study, research, scholarship, and teaching. Theses may only be shared by linking to Carleton University Institutional Repository and no part may be used without proper attribution to the author. No part may be used for commercial purposes directly or indirectly via a for-profit platform; no adaptation or derivative works are permitted without consent from the copyright owner.
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barfoot-makenomistakethiswasaterroristattackexamining.pdf | 2023-05-05 | Public | Download |