Fear is an inescapable part of how human beings experience reality. The impact of fear becomes particularly evident in a crisis. When a crisis strikes, be it a war, a pandemic, global warming or a financial crisis, leaders are challenged to exercise sound judgement by speaking and acting. This book argues that there are three fears every leader has to know – apocalyptic fear, political fear, and private fear. By appealing to these three fears in an adequate manner, a leader’s appeal to fear may serve a constructive purpose in a crisis.
Author(s): Bård Norheim, Joar Haga
Publisher: Palgrave Macmillan
Year: 2022
Language: English
Pages: 147
City: Cham
Preface
Note to the Reader
Acknowledgements
Contents
1 The Dilemma of Fear
An Epilogue for the Car
The Appeal to Fear
Words for a Crisis
A Short History of Fear
The Paradox of Fear
The Case Against Fear
Every Situation Is Potent with Fear
Hierarchies of Fear
A Rhetoric of Fear?
The Appeal to Fear as a Moral and Rhetorical Dilemma
Fear Is
Notes
Bibliography
2 Two Stories: One Dilemma
The First Story: A Story of Three Kinds of Fear
The Second Story: Oil, We Need Oil!
Go West!
How Dare You Go West!
Fear in the Era of Oil
Two Stories in One—Towards a Rhetoric of Fear
Notes
Bibliography
3 Apocalyptic Fear
The Doomsday Clock
“If Things Go Business as Usual, We Will Not Live”
A Renaissance for Apocalyptic Communication?
Here, There, and Everywhere—The Fear of a Nuclear Disaster
1983 as Apocalypse Now: The World on the Brink of Nuclear War
You Can Only Fear What You Already Know, Right?
Our Common Future, Our Common Apocalypse
Navigating Conflicting Fears
Notes
Bibliography
4 Political Fear
Hand in Hand We Stand, All Across the Land
Political Fear as a Crisis of Confidence
Migration and the Appeal to Political Fear
Navigating Conflicting Political Fears
Conflicting Fears and Globalization
Addressing Your Adversary in Politics
Welcome to Dystopia!
The Political Crisis as a Rhetorical Opportunity
Comical Ali and the Seductive Power of Positive Thinking
Don’t Panic, Everything Will Be Taken Care of! Lessons from Chernobyl
Naming Reality Means Naming Fear
Notes
Bibliography
5 Private Fear
King Midas and the Fear of Losing Your Self
My Home Is My Castle
How Dare You?
The Appeal to Shame
How to Inflict Shame on a Collective
No Christmas for You!
The Emperor’s New Clothes: Meet Wladimir the Underpants Poisoner
Addressing Your Adversary with an Appeal to Private Fear
The Objects of Private Fear
The Need for an Exit Strategy
Notes
Bibliography
6 Dressing Up to Address Fear
Dressing Up as Dr. Doom
The Importance of Character
To Decide Is to Kill
The Importance of Genre
Notes
Bibliography
7 The Virtue of Fear
Fearing the Right Things at the Right Time
A Virtuous Response to Fear?
The Appeal to Fear as Reality Check
Notes
Bibliography
Ten Commandments for a Crisis
For Leaders Who Want to Appeal to Fear in an Adequate Way
Bibliography
Index
