Instrumental Peace and the Rock of Dissent: The Philosophical Structure of Musical Resistance

This paper explores the historical and philosophical dynamics of Instrumen- tal Peace—a concept describing how language such as “peace,” “freedom,” and “greatness” becomes an instrument of control. Through a critical examination of rock music from Elvis Presley to Green Day, this study argues that musical re- bellion has continually functioned as a form of linguistic and ethical resistance to statepower. Byreclaimingandre-signifyingpoliticallanguage, rockmusicianshave challenged the instrumentalization of peace and freedom, turning sound itself into a philosophical weapon. The work also situates this phenomenon within broader the- oretical frameworks developed by Foucault, Derrida, Arendt, Agamben, and Zizek, proposing that music can act as an anti-discursive force capable of disrupting the performative violence of ideology.