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The article analyzes how hostility is legalized in different societies and which narratives and discourses are used to make the dominant state ideologies acceptable for citizens. The authors use critical discourse analysis methodology to compare the main narratives of (a) the establishment of communism that was dominant in the Soviet Union and (b) the anti-terrorism movement in the first decade of the 21st century, used in the spread of democratic ideology and justification of the actions of different countries.
The Cold War rhetoric in the Soviet Union meant the linguistic militarisation of life: war rhetoric interdiscursively invaded everyday life though the language of the media and thus became the language of describing everyday life. After the events of September 11, 2001, a new global confrontation was constructed. During the Soviet Union period we fought against international imperialism; now we fight against international terrorism. Both main narratives, the one of the Soviet Union and the one formulated by George Bush (Jnr), are phrased by the political elite and made legitimate through mass media.
Both narratives are characterized by euphemistic use of language, because military activity is justified by the need to defend democratic values.
