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http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.12323/8040
Title: | The Position of American orientalists on the Israel-Palestine conflict in the 21st century |
Other Titles: | Amerikan Orientalistlərinin 21-ci əsr İsrail-Fələstin münaqişəsinə mövqeyi |
Authors: | Hasanova, Rahimakhanim Tarlan |
Keywords: | American orientalists Israel-Palestine conflict |
Issue Date: | 2025 |
Series/Report no.: | ;Master thesis |
Abstract: | The Israel-Palestine conflict remains one of the most politically and symbolically sensitive issues in international relations, especially when it comes to U.S. foreign policy. While American support for Israel is usually explained through geopolitics, much less attention has been given to the language and narratives that help shape this support. Building on Edward Said's theory of Orientalism, this study analyzes how American Orientalist scholars have framed and explained U.S. foreign policy with respect to the Israel-Palestine conflict. It is particularly interested in how Palestinians are described in official U.S. rhetoric—and how these descriptions contrast with how Israel is presented. While Orientalism has been widely discussed in literature and cultural studies, far less attention has been paid to how its core ideas still shape the language and reasoning behind U.S. foreign policy. This study seeks to address that gap by looking at how Orientalist thinking continues to influence the way the Israel-Palestine conflict is described and defended in official discourse today. This study addresses that gap by analyzing how Orientalist thinking appears in American speeches, strategy documents, think tank reports, media coverage, and congressional debates. Using critical discourse analysis, the study reveals consistent patterns between presidential administrations and institutional platforms. The discursive analyses of the data show that Palestinians are routinely positioned as victims or threats, while Israeli actions are framed as moral, legal, or civilizational justifications. This study contributes to postcolonial and foreign policy discourse analysis by demonstrating how enduring Orientalist thinking continues to structure American discourses. The findings call for a more balanced and self-aware approach to political language and offer new ways to understand how ideology and power interact in global politics. |
Description: | School: Graduate School of Science, Arts and Technology Departament: Political Science and Philosophy Qualification: International Relations and Diplomacy Supervisor: Prof.Dr. Rovshan Ibrahimov Faiq |
URI: | http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.12323/8040 |
Appears in Collections: | Thesis |
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File | Description | Size | Format | |
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The Position of American orientalists on the Israel-Palestine conflict in the 21st century.pdf | 638.5 kB | Adobe PDF | View/Open |
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