Metaphors Matter: The Ideological Functions of the Kosovo–Holocaust Analogy

Abstract

The Kosovo–Holocaust analogy is normally examined either as a rhetorical tool of deception and propaganda, or as an argumentative device employed to serve diverse purposes with often conflicting meanings. Political objections are thus normally limited to disclosing the distortions that served the national interests of the intervener. Following Paul Ricoeur, the paper moves beyond mere distortion to the ideological functions (social integration, legitimization and distortion) of a wider social imaginary, a Holocaust metanarrative for understanding the war, evaluating the facts and ethically assessing the proper US response. Findings are based on exhaustive research into (a) public remarks and statements made by Secretary Albright and leading figures of the Department of State (1997–2001), (b) the Congressional Record during the Clinton and G. W. Bush's administrations, and (c) the public papers of the US Presidents during the same period (1993–2009).