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The Representation of Extremists in Western Media

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The Representation of Extremists in Western Media 2015 The Representation of Extremists in Western Media As radicalised Muslim converts gain ever greater attention within the War on Terror (WoT) and the media, an investigation into their portrayal and the associated discourses becomes ever more relevant. This study aims to shed more light on the representation of these extremist individuals in the Western media, specifically white converts to Islam who become radicalised. It explores whether there is indeed a difference between the portrayal of female and male extremists within this context and seeks to reveal any related social or national anxieties. This research paper has a qualitative research design, comprising the comparative case study model and discourse analysis. The main sources for the discourse analysis are English-speaking Western newspapers. Laura Kapelari Supervisor: Jacqueline De Matos Ala A research report submitted in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts in International Relations University of the Witwatersrand 2015 Declaration I declare that this research report is my own unaided work except where I have explicitly indicated otherwise. This research report is submitted towards the degree of Master of Arts in International Relations by coursework and research report at the University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg. It has not been submitted before for any other degree or examination at any other university. _____________________________ Laura Kapelari 1 Table of Contents Declaration .................................................................................................................................... 1 Acknowledgements ..................................................................................................................... 4 Chapter 1. Introduction ............................................................................................................... 6 Rationale and Aims ................................................................................................................ 10 Research Questions ................................................................................................................ 11 Chapter 2. Literature Review .................................................................................................... 12 Chapter 3. Methodology .......................................................................................................... 22 Overview .................................................................................................................................. 22 Word Frequency Analysis ....................................................................................................... 22 Themes ..................................................................................................................................... 26 Trauma .................................................................................................................................. 26 Normality and Irreconcilability .......................................................................................... 26 Influential Relationships ...................................................................................................... 27 Appearance ........................................................................................................................ 27 Motherhood ......................................................................................................................... 28 Traitorousness ....................................................................................................................... 28 Discourse Analysis ................................................................................................................... 29 Data Sources, Collection, and Analysis ............................................................................... 30 Limitations ................................................................................................................................ 32 Chapter 4. Data Analysis ........................................................................................................... 34 Background ............................................................................................................................. 34 Profiles ................................................................................................................................... 34 Definitions ............................................................................................................................. 36 Context ................................................................................................................................. 36 Women Extremists ................................................................................................................... 38 Normality and Irreconcilability .......................................................................................... 38 Trauma .................................................................................................................................. 41 2 Influential Relationships ...................................................................................................... 43 Appearance ........................................................................................................................ 46 Motherhood ......................................................................................................................... 48 Men Extremists ......................................................................................................................... 50 Normality and Irreconcilability .......................................................................................... 50 Trauma .................................................................................................................................. 51 Influential Relationships ...................................................................................................... 53 Appearance ........................................................................................................................ 54 Traitorousness ....................................................................................................................... 56 Chapter 5. Findings and Conclusion ....................................................................................... 59 Appendix ..................................................................................................................................... 62 Richard Dart ............................................................................................................................. 62 Muriel Degauque .................................................................................................................... 62 Colleen LaRose ....................................................................................................................... 63 Samantha Lewthwaite ........................................................................................................... 63 John Walker Lindh ................................................................................................................... 64 Joseph Thomas ........................................................................................................................ 65 Bibliography................................................................................................................................. 66 3 Acknowledgements Firstly, I would like to thank my supervisor for her inspiring insights and suggestions as well as allowing me free rein when it came to executing and writing up this research. Secondly, thank you to my top notch proof-reader, without whom I would undoubtedly have missed something, especially during that last push. Lastly, though certainly not least, I wish to thank and express my profoundest gratitude to my mother. She has supported and encouraged my ambitions since the very beginning, and without her, none of this would have ever been possible. She is both what started and continues to inspire this journey. 4 “If you are not careful, the newspapers will have you hating the people who are being oppressed, and loving the people who are doing the oppressing.” – Malcolm X 5 Chapter 1. Introduction With the events of 9/11 came the Bush administration’s rewritten national security policy, branded the War on Terror (WoT), which not only brought with it a cultural construction and political rationale that reinforced this slogan and facilitated its purpose, but a powerful organising principle that has become a widely accepted framing and resultantly created a news discourse favourable to military action in Iraq and elsewhere (Reese and Lewis 2009). In times of conflict, language will often take on a more substantial role, as staging and sustaining a war relies on collecting public emotion through the “visceral impact of propagandistic language” (Steuter and Wills 2010, 152). It has been no different with the WoT, which has given rise to an all-new set of propaganda tools used to frame the enemy within the “us versus them” dialectic and justify ongoing conflict. In the wake of 9/11, terrorism has assumed an ever larger and more permanent position globally and therefore in the media. The Global Terrorist Index recorded a total of 9 814 terrorist attacks in 2013, up from 6 825 in 2012 – an alarming increase
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