Eastern Michigan University DigitalCommons@EMU Master's Theses, and Doctoral Dissertations, and Master's Theses and Doctoral Dissertations Graduate Capstone Projects 2008 The ps ace between Aristotle and the Bush administration: Considering the impact of "goodwill" on international relations Anke Thorey Wolbert Follow this and additional works at: http://commons.emich.edu/theses Part of the Rhetoric Commons Recommended Citation Wolbert, Anke Thorey, "The space between Aristotle and the Bush administration: Considering the impact of "goodwill" on international relations" (2008). Master's Theses and Doctoral Dissertations. 187. http://commons.emich.edu/theses/187 This Open Access Thesis is brought to you for free and open access by the Master's Theses, and Doctoral Dissertations, and Graduate Capstone Projects at DigitalCommons@EMU. It has been accepted for inclusion in Master's Theses and Doctoral Dissertations by an authorized administrator of DigitalCommons@EMU. For more information, please contact [email protected]. The space between Aristotle and the Bush Administration: Considering the impact of “goodwill” on international relations by Anke Thorey Wolbert Thesis Submitted to the Department of Communication and Theatre Arts Eastern Michigan University in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of MASTERS OF ARTS in Communication Thesis Committee: Raymond Quiel, Chair Michael Tew, PhD Doris Fields, PhD March 13, 2008 ii Abstract Focusing on the Bush Administration’s post-September 11 rhetoric, this thesis investigates the impact this rhetoric had on the Administration’s perceived credibility by the international community with specific focus on Germany’s, France’s, and Great Britain’s reactions. Of particular interest is the importance of eunoia (goodwill) as an aspect of the speaker’s ethos. Considering that goodwill has been viewed as the lost dimension of Aristotle’s ethos (credibility) this analysis provides the basis to argue that goodwill should be treated as a major component of ethos. A textual analysis of rhetorical acts as well as media reactions sheds light on the role goodwill played in the Bush Administration’s credibility post-September 11 as perceived by the international audience. The findings of this thesis indicate that the failure to establish effective goodwill messages has negatively impacted the Bush Administration’s credibility as perceived by the audience, supporting the importance of goodwill on ethos. iii Table of Contents Chapter 1................................................................................................................................... 1 Introduction........................................................................................................................... 1 Literature Review.................................................................................................................. 2 Ethos ................................................................................................................................. 2 Today’s view of ethos....................................................................................................... 2 Aristotle’s view of ethos. .................................................................................................. 4 The concept of goodwill. .................................................................................................. 6 Problem................................................................................................................................. 8 Purpose.................................................................................................................................. 9 Chapter 2................................................................................................................................. 10 Methodology....................................................................................................................... 10 Artifacts........................................................................................................................... 11 Procedures....................................................................................................................... 12 Goodwill ..................................................................................................................... 12 The rhetorical acts of the Bush Administration .......................................................... 13 The international press reactions .................................................................................... 14 Chapter 3................................................................................................................................. 15 Textual Analysis and Response .......................................................................................... 15 Address to a Joint Session of Congress and the American People, September 20, 200115 International press reactions ........................................................................................... 18 “No nation can be neutral in this conflict,” November 6, 2001...................................... 21 iv International press reactions ........................................................................................... 24 “Remarks by President Bush to the United Nations, November 10, 2001” ................... 26 International press reactions ........................................................................................... 30 “Axis of Evil,” State of the Union Address, January 29, 2002....................................... 33 International press reactions ........................................................................................... 37 President thanks world coalition for anti-terrorism efforts, March 11, 2002 ................. 39 International press reactions ........................................................................................... 43 President Bush thanks Germany for support against terror, May 23, 2002.................... 45 International press reactions ........................................................................................... 49 President’s remarks at the United Nations General Assembly, September 12, 2002..... 52 International press reactions ........................................................................................... 57 Findings............................................................................................................................... 60 Chapter 4................................................................................................................................. 66 Discussion........................................................................................................................... 66 Outcome.......................................................................................................................... 66 Implications..................................................................................................................... 67 Limitations ...................................................................................................................... 69 Future Research .............................................................................................................. 70 Conclusion .......................................................................................................................... 71 References............................................................................................................................... 72 Bibliography ........................................................................................................................... 84 APPENDICES ........................................................................................................................ 91 v Appendix A:............................................................................................................................ 92 Address to a Joint Session of Congress and the American People, September 20, 2001... 92 Appendix B:.......................................................................................................................... 102 “No nation can be neutral in this conflict,” November 6, 2001........................................ 102 Appendix C:.......................................................................................................................... 106 “Remarks by President Bush to the United Nations, November 10, 2001” ..................... 106 Appendix D:.......................................................................................................................... 115 “Axis of Evil,” State of the Union Address, January 29, 2002......................................... 115 Appendix E: .......................................................................................................................... 128 President thanks world coalition for anti-terrorism efforts, March 11, 2002 ................... 128 Appendix F: .......................................................................................................................... 135 President Bush thanks Germany for support against terror, May 23, 2002...................... 135 Appendix G:.......................................................................................................................... 144 President’s remarks at the United Nations General Assembly, September 12, 2002....... 144 Chapter 1 Introduction