Beyond anti-terrorism: Metaphors as message strategy of post-September-11 U.S. public diplomacy

This research analyzed the major metaphors the U.S. government created to define the post-September-11 world realities, including “Second Front,” “Axis of Evil,” “Old Europe,” “Responsible Stakeholder,” and “Color Revolution.” The metaphors are found to be rhetorically advocating and share the archetypal metaphor of “democracy vs. tyranny” and “freedom vs. oppression.” The metaphors had their origins in the U.S. national security strategies, and the images they created highlighted aspects of the moral and ideological considerations but hide certain aspects of the realpolitik motivations.