Michael K. Launer

Composite narrative, authoritarian discourse, and the Soviet response to the destruction of Iran air flight 655

The response of the Soviet Union to the American destruction of Iran Air 655 in 1988 represents a break in the mutual cycle of superpower condemnation that occurred throughout the Cold War and most of the Reagan presidency. This essay concerns the Soviet response: first, we examine the manner in which Soviet print media disputed U.S. media comparisons with the 1983 downing of Korean airlines flight 007; second, we analyze Soviet news editorials as a composite narrative. Essentially, scattered editorial accounts are collected, compiled, and read as a single Soviet narrative of the event. Read as a composite narrative, the Soviet response represents an important break in the cycle of superpower bickering common throughout post‐Truman presidencies.

Of mighty mice and meek men: Contextual reconstruction of the Iranian airbus shootdown

When the U.S.S. Vincennes shot down Iran Air 655 (Airbus) on 3 July 1988, the Reagan administration initially reacted in a reserved and perfunctory manner; however, within two weeks the discourse had assumed a more vituperative demeanor. These disparate rhetorical styles suggest the premise that the administration redefined the context from which it communicated to the world. This study analyzes administrative rhetoric of the United States government during the Airbus crisis, examining all written verbatim records produced by the administration within a thirty day period following the shootdown. By studying the interplay of text and context, as this relates to the concept of rhetorical situation, we demonstrate that the administration contextually reconstructed the entire incident, that George Bushs speech before the United Nations on 14 July 1988 was the culmination of this change, and that discourse following Bushs speech evinced rhetorical qualities characteristic of administrative discourse during t...

KAL 007 and the Superpowers: An International Argument.

In September 1983, Soviet planes shot down Korean Air Lines Flight 007, provoking an exercise in crisis rhetoric by President Reagan and members of his administration. A case study of the incident illuminates the interactive nature of context, public knowledge, and rhetorical situation. Errors in argumentation strategy undermined the American position, raising doubts about U.S. complicity in the tragedy and enabling the Soviet Union to present a plausible explanation for its action.

The Role of Public Argument in Emerging Democracies: A Case Study of the 12 December 1993 Elections in the Russian Federation

The authors argue that in the 1993 Duma elections it was the Communist Party of the Russian Federation, led by Gennady Zyuganov, that incorporated rhetorical values and audience adaptation into its campaign strategy. Finding its discursive ground limited by history, the CPRF gradually shifted its rhetorical posture and argumentative strategies, redefining itself in the process. This evolution allowed the CPRF to employ the ideographs of ’democracy‘, ‘will of the people‘, ’citizen‘, and other key terms of Western-style democracy, while retaining, albeit in transformed meaning, traditional communist ideographs such as ’justice‘ and ’spirituality‘. In addition, the CPRF was able to borrow selectively from the history of the USSR between 1917 and 1989, thereby imbuing their political appeals with historical force and cultural memory.