"We all say no to war, we are all for justice and peace. But sometimes in order to maintain peace, armed action is necessary. But we hope it won't be the case"
About this Quote
Berlusconi wraps a hard sell in soft cotton. The line starts with a choir of consensual virtues - “we all” oppose war, “we are all” for justice and peace - a democratic blanket meant to disarm dissent before policy even arrives. It’s not an argument so much as a scene-setting move: if everyone already agrees on the moral destination, then the only remaining debate is over the route, and the speaker gets to frame that route.
The pivot word is “but,” doing the heavy lifting that politics loves to outsource. “Armed action” is conspicuously clinical, a euphemism that shrinks the blood-and-body reality of war into a tool of maintenance, like repairing a fence. The phrase “maintain peace” borrows the language of management and order, implying peace is a system that can be serviced - and that violence, paradoxically, can function as routine upkeep.
The subtext is coalition politics and reputational management: Berlusconi signals alignment with Western security consensus while leaving himself an escape hatch. “Necessary” invokes the logic of inevitability; “we hope it won’t be the case” performs reluctance, a moral alibi that lets action read as burden rather than choice. It’s the classic statesman’s two-step: reassure the public you hate war, then authorize the conditions under which you’ll wage it.
Contextually, this rhetoric fits the post-Cold War era’s humanitarian and security justifications, when leaders learned to market force as prevention, policing, or protection. Berlusconi’s genius here isn’t eloquence; it’s ambiguity calibrated for television: firm enough to sound responsible, vague enough to dodge accountability if the “maintenance” turns into disaster.
The pivot word is “but,” doing the heavy lifting that politics loves to outsource. “Armed action” is conspicuously clinical, a euphemism that shrinks the blood-and-body reality of war into a tool of maintenance, like repairing a fence. The phrase “maintain peace” borrows the language of management and order, implying peace is a system that can be serviced - and that violence, paradoxically, can function as routine upkeep.
The subtext is coalition politics and reputational management: Berlusconi signals alignment with Western security consensus while leaving himself an escape hatch. “Necessary” invokes the logic of inevitability; “we hope it won’t be the case” performs reluctance, a moral alibi that lets action read as burden rather than choice. It’s the classic statesman’s two-step: reassure the public you hate war, then authorize the conditions under which you’ll wage it.
Contextually, this rhetoric fits the post-Cold War era’s humanitarian and security justifications, when leaders learned to market force as prevention, policing, or protection. Berlusconi’s genius here isn’t eloquence; it’s ambiguity calibrated for television: firm enough to sound responsible, vague enough to dodge accountability if the “maintenance” turns into disaster.
Quote Details
| Topic | War |
|---|---|
| Source | Help us find the source |
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