Watch the event officially releasing the guide here....
From George Orwell’s critique of the language of totalitarian regimes to today, discussions of war and foreign policy have been full of dehumanizing euphemisms, bloodless jargon, little-known government acronyms, and troubling metaphors that hide warfare’s damage.
Think of “collateral damage” (civilian deaths), “overseas contingency operations” (wars), and “bug splat” (killing human beings with drone-fired missiles).
This guide aims to help people write and talk about war and foreign policy more accurately, more honestly, and in ways people outside the elite Washington, DC foreign policy “blob” can understand.
We encourage you to use this guide, to share it with others, and to adapt it as necessary to local contexts. The guide should be especially helpful to journalists and other writers, podcasters and vloggers, policy analysts, teachers, scholars, and people involved in public education projects.
When quoting or copying parts of the guide, please cite it, with a link to the guide’s online home: “Words about War Matter: A Language Guide for Discussing War and Foreign Policy,” September 2023, www.wordsaboutwar.org.”
Think of “collateral damage” (civilian deaths), “overseas contingency operations” (wars), and “bug splat” (killing human beings with drone-fired missiles).
This guide aims to help people write and talk about war and foreign policy more accurately, more honestly, and in ways people outside the elite Washington, DC foreign policy “blob” can understand.
We encourage you to use this guide, to share it with others, and to adapt it as necessary to local contexts. The guide should be especially helpful to journalists and other writers, podcasters and vloggers, policy analysts, teachers, scholars, and people involved in public education projects.
When quoting or copying parts of the guide, please cite it, with a link to the guide’s online home: “Words about War Matter: A Language Guide for Discussing War and Foreign Policy,” September 2023, www.wordsaboutwar.org.”
Two-page short version of the guide.
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For media queries, please email Dr. David Vine (American University) at [email protected].
This guide was produced with support from:
American University, Concordia University, University of California–Irvine
and the
War Prevention Initiative of the Jubitz Family Foundation.