Fawlty Logic: The Cracks in Cameron's 2011 Munich Speech

• Published in: ReOrient Vol. 1; no. 1; pp. 61 - 77
• Main Author: Klug, Brian
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Pluto Journals 01-10-2015
• Subjects: Cameron, David (British prime minister); Islam; Liberalism; Liberalization; Multiculturalism; Muslims; Political aspects; Political extremism; Political ideologies; Political speeches; Prime ministers; Religious terrorism; Social aspects; Speeches, lectures and essays; Terrorism; United Kingdom; Violent extremism; United Kingdom
• ISSN: 2055-5601; 2055-561X
• DOI: 10.13169/reorient.1.1.0061

In a high-profile speech at the 47th Munich Security Conference in February 2011, David Cameron indicted “the doctrine of state multiculturalism,” advocating instead a policy of “muscular liberalism.” The Munich Security Conference is an annual event at which heads of state, military and security experts, diplomats, and senior politicians from over seventy countries gather to discuss international policy on security. On the face of it, this is an unlikely venue for a UK prime minister to set out his stall on cultural diversity at home. But there is a thread running through his speech that ties together security policy and social policy. This article outlines the speech, analysing and discussing its logic and rhetoric. It seeks to unpack the subtext regarding Islam and Muslims in Britain today and to characterize Cameron's “voice.” Ultimately, the article argues that the speech evinces an almost unbearable sense of insecurity in a changing world, a world that is spinning out of control of the West, leaving the West unsure of itself and Britain unsure of its place.