FRAMING NATIONAL-SECURITY - ELITE PUBLIC DISCOURSE ON NUCLEAR-WEAPONSDURING THE COLD-WAR

Political discourse can provoke, preempt, or quell social movements, i dentifying which issues are most accessible for challenge and how. Mov ements are not simply reactive, however, and can affect public discour se, forcing political leaders and established elites to respond to the ir concerns. As a result public discourse may reflect the conflict bet ween various actors, as challengers seek to redefine the issues of the ir concerns and shape viable political solutions. Challengers offer al ternative ''frames'' for ordering consideration of political issues, c reating contests both between activists and mainstream media within ma instream media. This article analyzes the ''framing'' of national secu rity in elite discourse on nuclear weapons and the Soviet Union and it s relationship to the broader political climate, including peace movem ent activism. I compare specialized political discourse, expert strate gic discourse, and scientific public discourse from 1945 to 1989. I id entify three ''master frames'' regarding national security, then note the relationships between frame contests in each venue and the larger political climate. I conclude that specialized venues for public disco urse serve as both a resource and a site of struggle for protest movem ents, as elites both ''cue'' and respond to political movements.