Framing a civil war as foreign defense can legitimize aggression
Evidence
Octavian was extremely careful in the framing of his propaganda. He consciously avoided suggesting that two legitimate Romans were engaging in civil war. Instead, he portrayed the war as being international in nature, to ward off a dangerous foreign queen. He claimed that Antony had simply been enchanted by Cleopatra and was no longer in control of himself. Notably, the war was declared against Cleopatra (not Antony). — Sander van der Linden, Foolproof, 308
Categorization
- XREF: Reframing an internal conflict as a defense against a foreign threat recurs through history and is directly analogous to how modern leaders mobilize nationalist sentiment against perceived outside influence. — connects to: Clash-of-civilizations rhetoric ideologically legitimized both foreign wars and domestic attacks — Deepa Kumar, Islamophobia and the Politics of Empire, 421; Both sides in fault line wars benefit from redefining local conflict as civilizational — Samuel P. Huntington, The Clash of Civilizations and the…, 750; Peaceful coexistence principles masked regional distrust and war threats — Aijaz Ahmad, In Theory: Classes, Nations, Literatures, 1268 (+1 more)
- SEED: An essay on how declaring war on the foreign figurehead rather than the domestic rival lets leaders split opponents from their base is a strong usable angle.
Broader Connections
- Clash-of-civilizations rhetoric ideologically legitimized both foreign wars and domestic attacks
#corroborates(0.85) — Deepa Kumar, Islamophobia and the Politics of Empire, 421 - War on Terror propaganda preceded and pre-framed military action
#corroborates(0.85) — Khaled A. Beydoun, The New Crusades_ Islamophobia and the…, 215 - Both sides in fault line wars benefit from redefining local conflict as civilizational
#exemplifies(0.80) — Samuel P. Huntington, The Clash of Civilizations and the…, 750 - Peaceful coexistence principles masked regional distrust and war threats
#exemplifies(0.78) — Aijaz Ahmad, In Theory, 1268