Muistiteknologia ja poliittinen viestintä: Yhdysvaltojen hallinnon Iranin ydinohjelmaa käsittelevät tekstit 2001-2006

Författare

• Mika Aaltola

Abstract

Article explores the connection between the memory technology and the foreign policy speeches by the Bush administration. The central hypothesis is that the role of memory images can best be appreciated when contextualized in the various functions that memory has traditionally had. It is common to treat images in texts as stereotypes that feed prejudices and supplant knowledge based on real experience. My aim is to shed some light on the vital role of images and their loci in U.S. foreign policy. The importance of memory and memory images are crucial for the political pedagogy, communal cohesion, and foreign policy agency. Memory technology’s main aims are innovation and prudent agency ex tempore. The technology undermines the centrality often given to authentic/documentary memory. The use of the memory technology is illustrated through the speeches of Bush administration on Iran, 2001–2006.