Contesting Security and the Binding Effect in the US and the UK Discourse and Policy of “War on Terror”: A Theoretical and Empirical Exploration through a Dialogical-Relational Framework

Post-structuralist IR has often treated foreign policy/security discourses and their effects on policy through a “representational model”, i.e. how one dominant representation makes possible particular policy outcomes. However, in a longitudinal analysis, where the concern with “outcome” is already about continuity/change, this model is restricting and must be replaced by a model integrating multiple voices and contestations, and looking for non-linear mechanisms of long-term constraints. Thus, the purpose of this thesis is, first, to develop a theoretical-analytical framework suitable for an explicit interest in contestations and tracing constraints; and second, in an illustrative-explorative study, to apply such relational-dialogical framework to “war on terror” in the US and the UK (2001-2012). Bakhtinian Dialogism occupies an important status in the framework; therefore, a broader aim is to demonstrate how a “dialogical turn” inspired by the philosophy of Mikhail Bakhtin and his circle would enrich debate. Developments of the past decade – increased anti-war critique, change of governments in the US and the UK, and protracted withdrawal – provide new grounds for a longitudinal inquiry into “war on terror”. Moving beyond the question how “war on terror” was initially constructed and legitimised, scholarly attention must focus on a longitudinal inquiry into why “war on terror” endured. In this respect, the formidable deconstructions of official discourses by anti-war critique have received marginal attention in IR. The empirical part explores how critical discourses have contested the official narratives; how the latter have engaged with them as well as with moderate deliberative critique, and to what effect for continuity/change, to understand whether and how successive governments in the US and the UK have been discursively constrained (bound) in their attempts to change policy. Without claiming to be a comprehensive explanation, it locates and interprets patterns and logics within the discursive exchanges, delineating potential routes contributing to constraints and hence continuation. Thus, on the one hand, destabilising critique was shattering the foundations of the official “war on terror” narratives without fully re-inscribing the dislocated space with new imaginings, thus inviting official representatives to re-claim such space. On the other hand, deliberative voices were pushing for the realisation of the promises inherent in the official discourse, demanding “winning” the (albeit “mistaken”) war, thus inviting for continued engagement.University of Exeter Department of Politics Partial BursaryUniversity of Exeter Full International Studentshi

Abstract A Model of “Knowledge Evaluation“ for Foreign Language Distance Learning

pages 225-235 The concept of intelligent multimedia systems greatly interests foreign language teachers. The use of computers and networks gives direct access to media that support such communication, and makes the teaching much easier to individualise. Furthermore, individual distance work creates a didactic situation we do not yet know much about, different from the usual direct teacher-student interaction. This paper describes the GCSE server (General Certificate of Secondary Education), a system for evaluating French language learning. The goal of the project is to design an interactive environment that motivates the student in language learning by the use of multimedia and natural language techniques. Our main interest is focused on the evaluation of the student’s written response. We describe how the design of a test environment for languages is difficult to manage: the modelling of the linguistic context and the treatment of language are badly understood, the learning of the language is relatively contextual, and interactive computer use creates a particular didactic situation which is unfamiliar. Finally, we show that the particular student-computer interaction during language learning can be progressively modelled with an iterative development methodology using a model of “Situation of Knowledge Evaluation“. Key-words: French language learning, knowledge evaluation, web sit