Legitimating war through the meanings given to the body and death of Osama bin Laden

Abstract

This study examines how the 21st century war is legitimated through the meanings given to the event that happened on the 2nd of May 2011 and the body and death of Osama bin Laden. The purpose of this study is to show what is the political meaning given to an individual and in this case a person, a leader, in a singular event. And how is this event and meanings driven from it used to minimize vulnerability for the United States of America and to legitimate the 21st century war.

The theoretical framework of the research is constructed mainly around Judith Butler’s notion of vulnerability, but also around Michel Foucault’s work concerning power and its operation. The study is based upon an argument that the United States of America is an injured state that is trying to reconstitute itself. The process of reconstitution is examined through the different elements of vulnerability and how these elements differ from our normal perception, in order to uncover the frames in question.

The analysis shows that the meanings, given to the event and the body and death, are merely a milestone, a milestone without an end. The study argues that the war is based upon an illusion of gains that are not there. Ending in an argument that we need a new way of realization concerning war – we need to understand the disappointment of war.