The Rhetoric of Controlled Calamity: The Constructing of Drug Use Problem by Russian Federal Drug Control Service

Abstract

The article presents the results of a constructionist study into the rhetoric used by the Federal Drug Control Service of Russia (FDCS) in their efforts to control the flow of illegal drugs. Interactionist and constructionist studies of social problems demonstrate that the leaders and press-services of law enforcement organizations usually engage in a subtle rhetorical game, highlighting both the gravity of "their" problem, and, simultaneously, the success of their actions. This research considers the question of how the FDCS takes on the challenge of this "double task", which it does through various rhetorical devices. Also under consideration is how the service combines a demonstration of the grave seriousness, with reminders of their efficacy as an agency. This study analyzed over 70 speeches delivered by head of the FDCS, Viktor Ivanov, from January, 2013 till December, 2014. The use of a strict constructionist approach from the school of Peter Ibarra and John Kitsuse revealed the key features of agency’s rhetoric: including metaphorical parallels with natural disasters, playing around with big numbers and presenting drugs as a "mega-problem" breeding crime, terrorism, extremism and piracy. These features correspond to the rhetoric of calamity. FDCS has created a special vocabulary which underlines the catastrophic character of the problem. Phrases such as "narco-tsunami", "narco volcano", "heroin volcano", "number one threat for Russia" and "a giant army of drug users" give an indication of the style employed. However, the necessity to demonstrate the efficacy of the federal service demands the transformation of this rhetorical idiom into the one of "controlled calamity" which presents the situation as catastrophic but at the same time successfully kept under control. This rhetoric constitutes the basis for the demands to increase financing and authority of the FDCS, encouraging an expansion of their funding and influence into areas such as drugs rehabilitation programmes.