When is it reasonable to cooperate?

Abstract: When is it reasonable to cooperate? Tony Blair’s statement on the Iraqi crisis. The study analyses a speech given to the British parliament by PM Tony Blair, on 25th Feb 2003, shortly before the invasion of Iraq by an American-led coallition involving British forces. Via an analysis of the resources of speaker Appraisal (Martin 1999, Martin and Rose 2003), the rhetorical strategies involved in representing the ‘reasonableness’ of ‘cooperation’ are explored. The study also highlights the construction of social actors; for example, the ‘demonisation’ of Saddam Hussein, the exclusion of the Iraqi people who will be innocent victims of the intended action, and so on. It is suggested that Blair’s search for a possible consensus among the British people rests on his use of these resources, and in his construction of his intended audience as endowed with the key virtue of ‘reasonableness’.