With war in mind: A dialogical analysis of the mindset underlying Blair's case for war with Iraq in 2003

Dialogical Analysis, a tool from Cognitive Analytic Therapy, is used to discover how the mindset of war silences dialogue. The savage costs of war were hidden whilst the United Kingdom government expected to attract the admiration of a grateful world. This article looks at an example of this mindset expressed through Tony Blair MP's speech to the House of Commons on 18 March 2003. The speech aimed at convincing parliament that war was inevitable, necessary and the only obvious choice. It offered an extremely narrow presentation of options available to the government, in which ‘staying firm’ was coupled with the case for war whilst alternative, peaceful methods of conflict resolution were identified as ‘weak and feeble’ and viewed as encouraging terrorists.