BLAIR’S BRITAIN AND THE IRAQ WAR (2003)

Abstract

Within the framework of Critical Discourse Studies (CDS) the orthodox reductionist views on language have been superseded by a much more flexible and manifold conceptualization of meaning-making in language use. The latter is, therefore, seen as a highly complex social practice which is a product of, among many other things, the cultural, historical, and political conditions in a given 'epistemic community'. Based on a cross-disciplinary approach, this research undertakes a systematic analysis of Britain's involvement in the 2003 Iraq War. As it stands, this research posits that cognition in discourse analysis could not be ignored or relegated to an auxiliary status. Rather, it lays emphasis on the relevance of what van Dijk calls the "cognitive interface" to adequately dismantle the construction of ideology in language use