ABSTRACT Slobodan Milosevic’s rise from a minor Communist Party figure to the eventual Serbian president was bound up in rhetoric. Specifically, I examine how Milosevic rhetorically recast and modified the myth of Kosovo. The myth of Kosovo is one of the fundamental pillars of Serbian identity. I argue Milosevic modified the fundamental themes of the myth—disunity and unity—to bring an earthly redemption to Serbs in the late 1980s. Milosevic’s use of the Kosovo myth cemented his hold on presidential leadership in 1989 and is an important example of how past events are fruitful topoi for political leaders trying to build nationalist movements.

Book Review| June 01 2012 An Exceptional Debate: The Championing of and Challenge to American Exceptionalism American Exceptionalisms: From Winthrop to Winfrey. Sylvia Söderlind and James Taylor Carson.The Limits of Power: The End of American Exceptionalism. Andrew Bacevich.The Myth of American Exceptionalism. Geoffrey Hodgson.The New American Exceptionalism. Donald E. Pease.A Nation Like No Other: Why American Exceptionalism Matters. Newt Gingrich. Jason A. Edwards Jason A. Edwards Search for other works by this author on: This Site Google Rhetoric and Public Affairs (2012) 15 (2): 351–367. https://doi.org/10.2307/41940576 Cite Icon Cite Share Icon Share Facebook Twitter LinkedIn MailTo Permissions Search Site Citation Jason A. Edwards; An Exceptional Debate: The Championing of and Challenge to American Exceptionalism. Rhetoric and Public Affairs 1 June 2012; 15 (2): 351–367. doi: https://doi.org/10.2307/41940576 Download citation file: Zotero Reference Manager EasyBib Bookends Mendeley Papers EndNote RefWorks BibTex toolbar search Search Dropdown Menu toolbar search search input Search input auto suggest filter your search All Scholarly Publishing CollectiveMichigan State University PressRhetoric and Public Affairs Search Advanced Search The text of this article is only available as a PDF. © 2012 Michigan State University Board of Trustees2012 Article PDF first page preview Close Modal You do not currently have access to this content.