Realism or Idealism: A Critical Analysis of Trump and Obama's Rhetoric on the Syrian Civil War
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2018-06-20
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en
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This research looks at Trump and Obama’s foreign policy on the Syrian civil war. More specifically, it focusses on their presidential rhetoric in relation to the IR paradigms of realism and idealism. This research attempts to answer the question as to how the presidential rhetoric of the two presidents fits into the realist and idealist IR paradigms. Although Obama’s rhetoric has been studied before, there is little research relating specifically to the Syrian civil war. Scholarship on Trump’s rhetoric is relatively scarce, and this research might therefore offer new insights. Four different cases: Obama’s arming of rebels; the formulation of the “Red Line”; Trump’s missile strike on the Shayrat airbase; and Trump’s approach to diplomacy will be analyzed. Qualitative content analysis of twelve speeches relating to these cases will be utilized. The analyses obtained through this method will then be compared and contrasted to the idealist and realist IR frameworks.
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