Discourse and Violence : the Friend-Enemy Conjunction in Contemporary Iranian-American Relations

Iranian-american relations have been beset by mistrust and occasionaloutbreaks of vitriol and violence for the past three decades now. in thisarticle i attempt to map, theoretically and empirically, the discursive fieldin which relations between iran and the united states reveal themselves. iam interested in representations of iran and the united states, and how thefundamental friend-enemy distinction setting the two countries politicallyapart has come about. i take as a starting point, with critical theorists ofinternational relations, that discourse has a real and present impact on policyand that a lot that is happening in world politics can be adequatelycontextualized with an appreciation of the linkages between utterance andaction