How did Oliver North, who appeared to be a criminal and a liar, become an American hero? First the context must be considered. The Iran-Contra Affair was extremely complex with actors ranging from Eugene Hasenfus to President Ronald Reagan and settings ranging from Nicaragua to Israel to Iran. This complexity extended to the televised hearings…

Argues that the legitimacy crisis in Iran in 1978-79 arose from the contrasting views of authority espoused by the Shah and the Ayatollah over 25 years and describes how their rhetoric expresses the two impulses of the progressive and the traditionalist orientation of authority. Employs a critical perspective to analyze various rhetorical…