Tony Blair's television political interviews in the aftermath of the Iraq war

Ferguson, Aonghus John Donald

Abstract

This thesis studies the political television interview with a particular focus on three interviews undertaken by Tony Blair. The answers the Prime Minister gave about the invasion of Iraq in 2003 have been scrutinised in detail. The purpose of this piece of work is to analyse the tactics and techniques employed by Tony Blair in the television political interview. Two types of methodology are used in this thesis: qualitative content analysis and rhetorical analysis. This study focuses on the rhetoric used by the Prime Minister and the body language employed by Tony Blair when interviewed on television.
The main findings from this thesis was the Prime Minister's use of 'positive' and 'negative' language when answering a question, his uncertainty when challenged about Iraq and the link between the rhetoric employed by the Prime Minister and his body language.

Citation

Ferguson, A. J. D. Tony Blair's television political interviews in the aftermath of the Iraq war. (Thesis). Edinburgh Napier University. http://researchrepository.napier.ac.uk/id/eprint/6692

• Thesis Type: Thesis
• Deposit Date: Mar 31, 2014
• Peer Reviewed: Not Peer Reviewed
• Keywords: Tony Blair; Iraq war
• Public URL: http://researchrepository.napier.ac.uk/id/eprint/6692
• Award Date: 2011