This thesis investigates the extent to which Ambassador Kirkpatrick's and Ambassador Walters' United Nations discourses on human rights reflects the rhetorical themes of "prophetic dualism" and "technocratic realism." A metaphoric analysis of six speeches reveals that both Kirkpatrick's and Walters' arguments were framed through an ideological division between Democracy and Communism. The presence of "prophetic dualism" in Kirkpatrick's and Walters' discourses is explained as an extension of President Reagan's bipolar rhetoric on world affairs. The presence of "technocratic realism" in Walters' discourse is described as resulting from a unique set of political and rhetorical factors. The exacting nature of "prophetic dualism" may make it ill suited as a method of argument in the realm of diplomacy.

Part I: An Intellectual and Political History. Chapter One: Cold War Consensus Shattered. Chapter Two: Dictatorships and Double Standards. Chapter Three: The Carter Years: Was Kirkpatrick Right? Part II: Kirkpatrick and the Reagan Administration Chapter Four: The Kirkpatrick and Reagan Doctrines Chapter Five: Putting Policy to Practice: Chile and El Salvador