ABSTRACT
Until the late 20th century, rhetorical aspects of international security threats were rarely, if ever, examined by International Relations (IR) scholars. Although attention to language became a component of some security studies programs in IR, significant differences among theories, methods, and terminology make comparisons to similar work by Communication scholars difficult. This chapter examines existing research on rhetoric and security across topics of war, identity, borders, gender, and terrorism to illustrate some of the resources available to support much-needed interdisciplinary scholarship on these issues and beyond, including the contemporary threat posed by weapons of mass destruction.
