Pro-war propaganda: are we doing it by accident? Dr Stuart Parkinson

This is the War Room!” Dr Strangelove (1964) 2 Framespotting • Our view on an issue is strongly affected by the ‘frame’ we view it through • Example: • ‘Inheritance tax’ v ‘Death tax’ • Inheritance tax • Tax on assets that are inherited, i.e. [...] unearned wealth – ‘good’ • Death tax • Tax imposed following death – ‘bad’ • But they are the same thing! It depends which ‘frame’ you use… • For more discussion of the concept and examples, see: Matthews and Matthews (2014); Lakoff (2014) [image credit: Matthews and Matthews] 3 Military-friendly language: Defence • After World War II, governments starting renaming their ‘Ministry of War’ to ‘Mini. [...] flood defence, legal defence, defence against aversity • Implications: • Opposition to defence is irrational • Peace campaigners are irrational – and are not concerned with keeping us safe • Dictionary definitions of defence use words like ‘protection’ • Image is seal of US War Office (Dept of War) up until 1947 [image credit: United States Dept of War, 1880] 4 Alternative language • Military acti. [...] • Doctor Who story filmed at HM Portsmouth including using Royal Navy vessels – ‘The Sea Devils’ in 1972; British Army and Royal Air Force also appeared in stories in late 1960s/ early 1970s 11 Build associations with alternatives • STEM (and other) partnerships with: • Renewable energy industries • Energy efficiency industries • Health sector • International development agencies • Community organ. [...] An investigation into the role of UK universities in the development of autonomous weapons systems.