Torjuntavoitto retorisena figuurina
Keywords:
defensive victory, rhetoric, the continuation war, elections, the EUAbstract
In this article I examine the use of “defensive victory” in Finnish political rhetoric and rhetoric related to WWII, from 1940 to the 2020s. First, my focus is on how the concept of defensive victory came about and how it has been used in relation to the Continuation War in particular. Second, I analyze how “defensive victory” has been politicized in postwar rhetoric, regarding the elections, and in relation to the European Union. The argument is that “defensive victory” has been transferred from its original context in a way that defining it as a rhetorical figure is justified. It has become a catchword that crystallizes the military, political and moral situation at hand, while the initial connection to WWII has waned. Rhetoric pertaining to “defensive victory” draws extensively on the so-called four master tropes, metaphor, synecdoche, metonymy and irony. The analysis illustrates how political and military vocabulary intertwine in Finnish political rhetoric.
