On persuasion in Obama's speech in support of Ukraine

from rhetoric to critical discourse analysis

Okhotina Okhotina, Liliia

The present work explores the connections between power and language and, in particular, the relationship(s) between language use in politics and unequal relations of power between the United States of America and the rest of the world. This study aims to uncover implicit meanings in Obama’s speech, given in Brussels on March 26, 2014, and to reveal what he really wanted his audience to know and believe. By using CDA and rhetorical analytical instruments, it is pinpointed the rhetorical strategies that Obama used in his speech to achieve his goals as well as to spread its covert ideology. The findings reveal two main purposes of this discourse: one is the persuasion of the European audience to protect America and Europe’s hard-fought freedom from Russian aggression politics. The other theme is a full-blown critique of the Russian political attitude towards the situation in Ukraine, presenting Russia as a common enemy against which they must fight