Zeitschrift für Diskursforschung/ Journal for Discourse Studies

Violence, Intimidation and Incarceration: America†™s War on Whistleblowers

Zusammenfassung

Much has been made of US President Donald Trump†™s authoritarian tendencies. Trump†™s inflammatory rhetoric and draconian policies lay bare the violence embedded in contemporary political discourse and power relations. While Trump†™s verbal assaults on news workers are well documented and widely discussed, his efforts – and those of his immediate predecessor Barack Obama – to silence government whistleblowers receive far less scrutiny. Drawing on discourse theory and analysis, this paper explores the experience of three prominent leakers and the epistemic violence underpinning America†™s war on whistleblowers.