Public Diplomacy of the George W. Bush Administration: 9/11 and War on Terror

The terrorist attacks that occurred on September 11, 2001 are events that profoundly affected the national security of the United States, changed the political landscape of the world, and put terrorism on the primary agenda of United States security policy. President George W. Bush's declaration of the War on Terror after 9/11 is an approach that changed the course of the world in global political relations. The War on Terror, a multidimensional action, took the form of a conceptual framework for national security and was an effort to establish and maintain a global coalition on the axis of expanding cooperation. In the motives required by the discursive reactions, the War on Terror has revealed a cause-effect relationship in terms of shaping the ideas and being understood by the masses, and has been described as a step that legitimizes international policies. In public diplomacy regarding the security interests of the United States, the War on Terror has become a comprehensive public diplomacy campaign against anti-Americanism. In this context, the War on Terror is a rhetorical basis for Bush administration public diplomacy. During the Bush administration, the War on Terror, which was an act of reminder for the values of the country and used to distinguish themselves from their enemies, gained importance for the creation of unity and strength across the country. In this study, the reflection of the 9/11 attacks on public diplomacy, the War on Terror strategy and the Bush Doctrine are addressed. At the same time, the rhetoric of the War on Terror in the formation of the value judgments of the masses and the implementation of the policies is examined from the perspective of public diplomacy.