Somalia and the imperial savage: Continuities in the rhetoric of war

Bill Clinton's response to the Somalia situation demonstrates the development of a kind of presidential war discourse in the post‐Cold War era. Clinton's rhetoric hosts a re‐articulation of an image of an imperial savage, a primitive “other.” This form is contrasted with the image of the modern savage, another common construct used to represent American adversaries. In considering this rhetorical continuity, the reader is asked to recall the heritage of the form, so as to better identify its essential character and grapple with the cultural implications of its re‐emergence in the post‐Cold War era.

Key words:

• public argument
• Clinton
• war rhetoric
• peacekeeping
• Somalia
• savagery