The use of war as metaphor is a longstanding literary and rhetorical

trope Trope or tropes may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media * Trope (cinema), a cinematic convention for conveying a concept * Trope (literature), a figure of speech or common literary device * Trope (music), any of a variety of different things ...

. In political usage,

war War is an intense armed conflict between states, governments, societies, or paramilitary groups such as mercenaries, insurgents, and militias. It is generally characterized by extreme violence, destruction, and mortality, using regular o ...

metaphor A metaphor is a figure of speech that, for rhetorical effect, directly refers to one thing by mentioning another. It may provide (or obscure) clarity or identify hidden similarities between two different ideas. Metaphors are often compared wit ...

s are used to manage a perceived societal problem, with the concept taking the place of an individual or state enemy in true war. Philosopher

James Childress James Franklin Childress (; born October 4, 1940) is a philosopher and theologian whose scholarship addresses ethics, particularly biomedical ethics. Currently he is the John Allen Hollingsworth Professor of Ethics at the Department of Religious ...

describes the use of war as a metaphor as a dilemma: "In debating social policy through the language of war, we often forget the moral reality of war." One fundamental problem is that it is often unclear when the "war" is over.

Simon Jenkins Sir Simon David Jenkins (born 10 June 1943) is a British author, a newspaper columnist and editor. He was editor of the ''Evening Standard'' from 1976 to 1978 and of ''The Times'' from 1990 to 1992. Jenkins chaired the National Trust from 20 ...

Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature The Royal Society of Literature (RSL) is a learned society founded in 1820, by King George IV, to "reward literary merit and excite literary talent". A charity that represents the voice of literature in the UK, the RSL has about 600 Fellows, elec ...

, said that "Never, ever, should a government use war as a metaphor in a time of peace." The

Cultural Revolution The Cultural Revolution, formally known as the Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution, was a sociopolitical movement in the People's Republic of China (PRC) launched by Mao Zedong in 1966, and lasting until his death in 1976. Its stated goal ...

in China 1966–1976, which initially was launched as a "War against Revisionism", is a discouraging example of a metaphorical war against "-isms".

Examples

Examples of war used as a metaphor, often on the form "War on..." or "War against...": * "

Customs war A trade war is an economic conflict often resulting from extreme protectionism in which states raise or create tariffs or other trade barriers against each other in response to trade barriers created by the other party. If tariffs are the exclus ...

", also known as a "toll war" or "tariff war", a type of economic conflict between two or more states. * "

Trade war A trade war is an economic conflict often resulting from extreme protectionism in which states raise or create tariffs or other trade barriers against each other in response to trade barriers created by the other party. If tariffs are the exclus ...

" * "

War on Crime In modern politics, law and order is the approach focusing on harsher enforcement and penalties as ways to reduce crime. Penalties for perpetrators of disorder may include longer terms of imprisonment, mandatory sentencing, three-strikes laws a ...

", 1930s,

J. Edgar Hoover John Edgar Hoover (January 1, 1895 – May 2, 1972) was an American law enforcement administrator who served as the first Director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI). He was appointed director of the Bureau of Investigation ...

* "

Cold War The Cold War is a term commonly used to refer to a period of geopolitical tension between the United States and the Soviet Union and their respective allies, the Western Bloc and the Eastern Bloc. The term '' cold war'' is used because the ...

" (1947—1991), a period of hostility between the two dominant

superpower A superpower is a state with a dominant position characterized by its extensive ability to exert influence or project power on a global scale. This is done through the combined means of economic, military, technological, political and cultural s ...

s at the time, the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

and the

Soviet Union The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen national ...

. The Cold War in itself was never a war, but several

proxy war A proxy war is an armed conflict between two states or non-state actors, one or both of which act at the instigation or on behalf of other parties that are not directly involved in the hostilities. In order for a conflict to be considered a pr ...

s were carried out by both sides over the period. * The

(1966–1976) in China was launched as a "War against Revisionism" Marshall

Lin Biao ) , serviceyears = 1925–1971 , branch = People's Liberation Army , rank = Marshal of the People's Republic of China Lieutenant general of the National Revolutionary Army, Republic of China , commands ...

is given credit for inspiring war metaphors when he said in 1965, at the outset of the movement, "The battlefield of the Cultural Revolution cannot call a ceasefire. This is a war without that option." *

Jimmy Carter James Earl Carter Jr. (born October 1, 1924) is an American politician who served as the 39th president of the United States from 1977 to 1981. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party, he previously served as th ...

's application of "war" as metaphor for the energy crisis of 1974 described in ''

Metaphors We Live By ''Metaphors We Live By'' is a book by George Lakoff and Mark Johnson (professor), Mark Johnson published in 1980. The book suggests metaphor is a tool that enables people to use what they know about their direct physical and social experiences to ...

'' by George Lakoff and Mark Johnson describe * "

War on Poverty The war on poverty is the unofficial name for legislation first introduced by United States President Lyndon B. Johnson during his State of the Union address on January 8, 1964. This legislation was proposed by Johnson in response to a national p ...

", an unofficial name for legislation first introduced by United States president

Lyndon B. Johnson Lyndon Baines Johnson (; August 27, 1908January 22, 1973), often referred to by his initials LBJ, was an American politician who served as the 36th president of the United States from 1963 to 1969. He had previously served as the 37th vice ...

during his

State of the Union address The State of the Union Address (sometimes abbreviated to SOTU) is an annual message delivered by the president of the United States to a joint session of the United States Congress near the beginning of each calendar year on the current conditio ...

on 8 January 1964. * "

War on Cancer The "war on cancer" is the effort to find a cure for cancer by increased research to improve the understanding of cancer biology and the development of more effective cancer treatments, such as targeted drug therapies. The aim of such efforts is t ...

", combined effort to decrease cancer mortality through improved prevention, detection, and treatment * "

War on Drugs The war on drugs is a Globalization, global campaign, led by the United States federal government, of prohibition of drugs, drug prohibition, military aid, and military intervention, with the aim of reducing the illegal drug trade in the Unite ...

", US term referring to efforts to curtail illegal drug trade * " War on Gangs", national movement in the US to reduce gang-related activity, gang violence, and gang drug involvement * "

Culture war A culture war is a cultural conflict between social groups and the struggle for dominance of their values, beliefs, and practices. It commonly refers to topics on which there is general societal disagreement and polarization in societal value ...

" (1991, 2000s), various conflicts and demographic trends in US history * "

War of ideas In politics, a war of ideas is a confrontation among the ideologies that nations and political groups use to promote their domestic and foreign interests. In a war of ideas, the battle space is the public mind, the belief of the peoples who compos ...

" (1993),

Heritage Foundation The Heritage Foundation (abbreviated to Heritage) is an American conservative think tank based in Washington, D.C. that is primarily geared toward public policy. The foundation took a leading role in the conservative movement during the presiden ...

analyst James A. Phillips used the term "war of ideas" in describing the pivotal role played by the

National Endowment for Democracy The National Endowment for Democracy (NED) is an organization in the United States that was founded in 1983 for promoting democracy in other countries by promoting political and economic institutions such as political groups, trade unions, ...

(NED) in the ideological battle for the protection of democracy. * "War on Terrorism" or "

War on Terror The war on terror, officially the Global War on Terrorism (GWOT), is an ongoing international Counterterrorism, counterterrorism military campaign initiated by the United States following the September 11 attacks. The main targets of the campa ...

" (2001–2013) coined in 2001 by then United States

president President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) *President (education), a leader of a college or university *President (government title) President may also refer to: Automobiles * Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese ful ...

George W. Bush George Walker Bush (born July 6, 1946) is an American politician who served as the 43rd president of the United States from 2001 to 2009. A member of the Republican Party, Bush family, and son of the 41st president George H. W. Bush, he ...

after the

terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001 The September 11 attacks, commonly known as 9/11, were four coordinated suicide terrorist attacks carried out by al-Qaeda against the United States on Tuesday, September 11, 2001. That morning, nineteen terrorists hijacked four commercial ...

to mobilize an international military campaign. In 2013, President

Barack Obama Barack Hussein Obama II ( ; born August 4, 1961) is an American politician who served as the 44th president of the United States from 2009 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party, Obama was the first African-American president of the U ...

announced that the United States was no longer pursuing a War on Terror, as the military focus should be on specific enemies rather than a tactic. * "War on

Graffiti Graffiti (plural; singular ''graffiti'' or ''graffito'', the latter rarely used except in archeology) is art that is written, painted or drawn on a wall or other surface, usually without permission and within public view. Graffiti ranges from s ...

", municipal initiative described by

Toronto Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the ancho ...

mayor

Rob Ford Robert Bruce Ford (May 28, 1969 – March 22, 2016) was a Canadian politician and businessman who served as the 64th mayor of Toronto from 2010 to 2014. Before and after his term as mayor, Ford was a city councillor representing Ward 2 Etobi ...

* "War on

Cars A car or automobile is a motor vehicle with wheels. Most definitions of ''cars'' say that they run primarily on roads, seat one to eight people, have four wheels, and mainly transport people instead of goods. The year 1886 is regarded as t ...

", municipal initiative described by

mayor

* " War on Want" is an anti-poverty charity based in London * War on I-4, nickname for rivalry between

Tampa Bay Storm The Tampa Bay Storm were a professional arena football team based in Tampa, Florida, US. It played in the Arena Football League (AFL). Originally the team was located in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, and operated as the Pittsburgh Gladiators. The f ...

and the

Orlando Predators The Orlando Predators were a professional arena football team based in Orlando, Florida and member of the Arena Football League (AFL). The team was most recently owned by Orlando Predators LLC, a company owned by David A. Siegel, and played its ...

in the

Arena Football League The Arena Football League (AFL) was a professional arena football league in the United States. It was founded in 1986, but played its first official games in the 1987 season, making it the third longest-running professional football league in ...

Emu War The Emu War, also known as the Great Emu War, was a nuisance wildlife management military operation undertaken in Australia over the later part of 1932 to address public concern over the number of emus said to be running amok and destroying c ...

* Global War on Error, a campaign to eliminate

aviation Aviation includes the activities surrounding mechanical flight and the aircraft industry. ''Aircraft'' includes fixed-wing and rotary-wing types, morphable wings, wing-less lifting bodies, as well as lighter-than-air craft such as hot air ...

errors Some "wars" are not proclaimed but rather a label used by adversaries: * "

War against Islam War against Islam is a term used to describe a concerted effort to harm, weaken or annihilate the societal system of Islam, using military, economic, social and cultural means, or means invading and interfering in Islamic countries under the prete ...

" (also called the "War on Islam"), a term coined in the 1990s and popularized after 2001 to describe a perceived campaign to harm, weaken or annihilate the societal system of Islam, using military, economic, social and cultural means. * " War on Christmas", term in the US to describe perennial controversy occurring around Christmas * '' War on Whistleblowers'', a 2013 documentary by

Robert Greenwald Robert Greenwald (born August 28, 1945) is an American filmmaker, and the founder of Brave New Films, a nonprofit film and advocacy organization whose work is distributed for free in concert with nonprofit partners and movements in order to educ ...

. * "

The War Within The War Within may refer to: * ''The War Within'' (film), a 2005 film * ''The War Within'' (Shadows Fall album), 2004 * ''The War Within'' (Wells book), a 1994 book by Tom Wells on America's internal battle over the war in Vietnam * ''The War W ...

", may refer to several things * " War on Women", an expression in US politics used to describe certain Republican Party policies as a wide-scale effort to restrict women's rights, especially reproductive rights * "War on Democracy" from the title '' The War on Democracy'', a 2007 documentary film directed by Christopher Martin and John Pilger * "War on Secrecy" from the title '' WikiLeaks: Inside Julian Assange's War on Secrecy'', a 2011 book by David Leigh and

Luke Harding Luke Daniel Harding (born 21 April 1968) is a British journalist who is a foreign correspondent for ''The Guardian''. He was based in Russia for ''The Guardian'' from 2007 until, returning from a stay in the UK on 5 February 2011, he was refu ...

telling the story of

Julian Assange Julian Paul Assange ( ; Hawkins; born 3 July 1971) is an Australian editor, publisher, and activist who founded WikiLeaks in 2006. WikiLeaks came to international attention in 2010 when it published a series of leaks provided by U.S. Army inte ...

WikiLeaks WikiLeaks () is an international Nonprofit organization, non-profit organisation that published news leaks and classified media provided by anonymous Source (journalism), sources. Julian Assange, an Australian Internet activism, Internet acti ...

, and the leak by

Chelsea Manning Chelsea Elizabeth Manning (born Bradley Edward Manning; December 17, 1987) is an American activist and whistleblower. She is a former United States Army soldier who was convicted by court-martial in July 2013 of violations of the Espionage A ...

* " War on Coal", a phrase used by the coal industry and its supporters to describe what they claim is an effort by the

Obama administration Barack Obama's tenure as the 44th president of the United States began with his first inauguration on January 20, 2009, and ended on January 20, 2017. A Democrat from Illinois, Obama took office following a decisive victory over Republican ...

to impose stringent regulations on coal power in the United States * "

War on Cops The militarization of police (paramilitarization of police in some media) is the use of military equipment and tactics by law enforcement officers. This includes the use of armored personnel carriers (APCs), assault rifles, submachine guns, fla ...

", a phrase used by Bill Johnson, Executive Director of

National Association of Police Organizations The National Association of Police Organizations (NAPO) represents police and law enforcement officers, police unions and local police officer associations. It was founded in 1978. NAPO represents more than 2,000 police units and associations, 2 ...

. Also called "War on Police". Similar rhetoric was used by

Donald Trump Donald John Trump (born June 14, 1946) is an American politician, media personality, and businessman who served as the 45th president of the United States from 2017 to 2021. Trump graduated from the Wharton School of the University of Pe ...

Ted Cruz Rafael Edward "Ted" Cruz (; born December 22, 1970) is an American politician and attorney serving as the junior United States Senator from Texas since 2013. A member of the Republican Party, Cruz served as Solicitor General of Texas from ...

, and Scott Walker. * "War on

Science Science is a systematic endeavor that builds and organizes knowledge in the form of testable explanations and predictions about the universe. Science may be as old as the human species, and some of the earliest archeological evidence for ...

", used variously to describe academic

postmodernism Postmodernism is an intellectual stance or Rhetorical modes, mode of discourseNuyen, A.T., 1992. The Role of Rhetorical Devices in Postmodernist Discourse. Philosophy & Rhetoric, pp.183–194. characterized by philosophical skepticism, skepticis ...

's criticism of objective reality or political opposition to the conclusions of science. * During the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identif ...

, the president of France,

Emmanuel Macron Emmanuel Macron (; born 21 December 1977) is a French politician who has served as President of France since 2017. ''Ex officio'', he is also one of the two Co-Princes of Andorra. Prior to his presidency, Macron served as Minister of Econ ...

, repeated multiple times "We are at war". The prime minister of Greece,

Kyriakos Mitsotakis Kyriakos Mitsotakis ( el, Κυριάκος Μητσοτάκης, ; born 4 March 1968) is a Greek politician serving as the prime minister of Greece since 8 July 2019. A member of the New Democracy (Greece), New Democracy, he has been its presi ...

, also used the metaphor.PM says Greece at war with 'invisible enemy' coronavirus
. ''

Reuters Reuters ( ) is a news agency owned by Thomson Reuters Corporation. It employs around 2,500 journalists and 600 photojournalists in about 200 locations worldwide. Reuters is one of the largest news agencies in the world. The agency was estab ...

'', 17 March 2020. EU industry commissioner

Thierry Breton Thierry Breton (; born 15 January 1955) is a French business executive, politician, writer and the current Commissioner for Internal Market of the European Union. Breton was vice-chairman and CEO of Groupe Bull (1996–1997), chairman and CEO o ...

said "We are at war with the virus. An economic war."Eszter Zalan. euobserver.com, 17 March 2020. US president

said "I'm a wartime president. This is a war — a different kind of war than we’ve ever had."Emma Newburger.
Trump activates National Guard in California, New York and Washington state: 'This is a war' (archived)
, cnbc.com, 22 March 2020. UK prime minister

Boris Johnson Alexander Boris de Pfeffel Johnson (; born 19 June 1964) is a British politician, writer and journalist who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom and Leader of the Conservative Party from 2019 to 2022. He previously served as F ...

said "We must act like any wartime government, and do whatever it takes to protect our economy."Quentin Letts.
Quentin Letts: Sunak holds court with pain relief (archived)
, thetimes.co.uk, 18 March 2020. *

Nayib Bukele Nayib Armando Bukele Ortez (; born 24 July 1981) is a Salvadoran politician and businessman who is the 43rd president of El Salvador, serving since 1 June 2019. He is the first president since José Napoleón Duarte (1984–1989) not to have ...

, President of

El Salvador El Salvador (; , meaning " The Saviour"), officially the Republic of El Salvador ( es, República de El Salvador), is a country in Central America. It is bordered on the northeast by Honduras, on the northwest by Guatemala, and on the south b ...

, declared a "war on gangs" and a

state of exception A state of exception (german: Ausnahmezustand) is a concept introduced in the 1920s by the German philosopher and jurist Carl Schmitt, similar to a state of emergency (martial law) but based in the sovereign's ability to transcend the rule of law ...

on Sunday 27 March 2022. Between then and 8 June 2022, more than 38,000 people were arrested of a population of 6,8M.Tom Phillips
'It's a war on the people': El Salvador's mass arrests send thousands into despair
(archived) ''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Gu ...

'', 8 June 2022.

References

Vad har Kina lärt av kulturrevolutionen?
, professor

Michael Schoenhals Michael Schoenhals (born 1953) is a Swedish sinologist, specializing in the society of modern China. He is Professor Emeritus of Chinese Studies at Lund University. The book ''Mao's Last Revolution'' by Roderick MacFarquhar and Michael Schoenhals ...

in '' Godmorgon världen!'',

Sveriges radio Sveriges Radio AB (, "Sweden's Radio") is Sweden's national publicly funded radio broadcaster. Sveriges Radio is a public limited company, owned by an independent foundation, previously funded through a licensing fee, the level of which is d ...

, 18 May 2016. Retrieved 23 maj 2016. (In Swedish) Rym Momtaz. {{Cite web , url=https://www.politico.eu/article/emmanuel-macron-on-coronavirus-were-at-war/ , title=Emmanuel Macron on coronavirus: 'We're at war' , date=16 March 2020 , access-date=March 17, 2020 , archive-date=March 17, 2020 , archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200317160139/https://www.politico.eu/article/emmanuel-macron-on-coronavirus-were-at-war/ , url-status=bot: unknown , politico.eu, 16 March 2020.

.
Why I'm taking the coronavirus hype with a pinch of salt (archived)
, ''

'', 6 March 2020. Politics of the United States English phrases

Examples

See also

Further reading

References