Epilogue: “Nordicness” – theory and practice

Hyde‐Price, Adrian

doi:10.1080/23340460.2018.1497451

Cited by 10 publications

(4 citation statements)

References 27 publications

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“…The relevance to international relations of such nation-state discourses have been explored by studies of the narrative underpinnings of government security policy (Krebs, 2015), and the contribution of collective national identities – and the transnational communicative processes that shape them – to enabling and anchoring multilateral groupings and alliances, such as the Non-Aligned Movement (Vieira, 2016), NATO (Greve, 2017), and the EU (Johansson-Nogués, 2018; Mitzen, 2006). In a similar vein, current analyses of Sweden’s hesitation to join NATO argue that a long-standing discursive-ideational heritage concerning Sweden’s role in the international system is at odds with evolving geostrategic imperatives, and that the former explains the hesitation (Hyde-Price, 2018).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Notably, these types of discourses related to the self-identity of the Swedish state, and perceptions and norms surrounding Sweden’s and other countries’ positions and roles in the world polity. Effectively, the travel cadre appealed to – and tried to shape – Swedish state identity, biographical narrative, and ontologies of the international system; variables in focus for a wide array of IR scholarship on discursive-ideational factors, including role theory in foreign policy (Hyde-Price, 2018) and the social construction of rank in international hierarchy (Mattern and Zarakol, 2016).…”

Section: The Micro-level Mechanismsmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Illiberal deliberation: Communist regime travel controls as state capacity in everyday world politics

Hedin¹

2018

Cooperation and Conflict

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Much social theory takes for granted that transnational people-to-people dialogue is inherently liberal in process and content – a haven of everyday authenticity that shelters ideas of human rights and democratic reform. In contrast, this contribution shows how communist regimes built and institutionalised an encompassing administrative state capacity to control and shape micro-level professional contacts with the West. This extensive but secret system of coercion, which was brought to light only with the opening of former communist regime archives, set a markedly illiberal framework for everyday East–West deliberations during the Cold War. Effectively, the travel cadre system may not only have delayed the demise of Soviet bloc communism, by isolating the population from Western influences. It was also intended to serve as a vehicle for the discursive influence of Soviet type regimes on the West. The article provides one of the first and most detailed English language maps of the administrative routines of a communist regime travel cadre system, based on the East German example. Furthermore, drawing on social mechanisms methodology, the article sets up a micro-level ‘how it could work’ scheme over how travel cadre systems can be understood as a state capacity, unique to totalitarian regimes, to help sway political discourse in open societies.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: The Micro-level Mechanismsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Illiberal deliberation: Communist regime travel controls as state capacity in everyday world politics

Hedin¹

2018

Cooperation and Conflict

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“…The constructivist literature does not suggest this behaviour is unique to Norway. It must be considered in the context of other smaller powers, including other Nordic states, as well as Switzerland and Canada, all similarly prevalent in multilateral institutions and global peace efforts, regularly promoting the cause of states in the Global South (Brommesson 2018;Hyde-Price 2018). The Nordic states, in particular, are peaceful and prosperous, with limited colonial histories, and despite Norway and Denmark's ongoing North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) memberships, are perceived as neutral and thus naturally suited to peacemaking (Moolakkattu 2005).…”

Section: Norwegian Peacemaking As Status-seekingmentioning

confidence: 99%

The political economy of Norwegian peacemaking in Myanmar’s peace process

Roy

Ware

Laoutides

2021

Third World Quarterly

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Norway is widely accepted as a global leader in peacemaking, due to its lengthy track record of involvement in complex peace processes. Its predilection for peacemaking is usually interpreted as a form of 'status-seeking' by a smaller state, aimed at enhancing Norway's influence and reputation in the international system. However, this perception offers a limited view and obscures other motivations that drive Norway to peacemaking. Aimed at addressing this gap, this paper dissects Norwegian peacemaking efforts in Myanmar between 2011 and 2019. The paper utilises a critical political economy lens to uncover the deeper motivations underpinning Norwegian peacemaking, drawing on new interview fieldwork with diverse stakeholders in Myanmar's peace process. The paper finds that material interests, including the desire to access new markets in the Global South, have played a significant role in influencing Norwegian peacemaking, highlighting the instrumental potential of 'status-seeking' in foreign policy. Concerningly, this strategy has served the interests of dominant power groups in Myanmar, contributing to the subordination of minority actors, thus compromising their engagement and revealing an image of Norway that belies constructivist perceptions of its status as a moral or humanitarian 'great power' .

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“…On occasions, the two countries fought wars – most notably, one that resulted in Sweden losing Finland to the Russian Empire in 1809. During the Cold War, the Nordics were strategically peripheral (Hyde-Price, 2018: 440); yet, in Baev’s (2018: 410) analysis, they have now become strategically important, due to the location of Russia’s main base for strategic submarines in the Kola Peninsula. This makes the High North central to both the US and Russia, as a key location for placement of early warning and missile defence systems.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Ringing true? The persuasiveness of Russian strategic narratives

Wagnsson

Lundström

2022

Media, War & Conflict

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International Relations (IR) scholars have theorized the significance of communication and messaging across state borders, using notions such as soft power, sharp power, propaganda and illiberal communication. This study contributes to this body of research by investigating narrative persuasiveness by way of a large-scale experimental exploration of narrative reception. The projection of strategic narratives has become a central feature of modern influencing across borders. Despite the existence of a growing literature on the potentially harmful effects of such narratives, however, their persuasiveness remains under-researched. This article seeks to help fill this gap by asking what might induce people in Sweden to side with strategic narratives projected by Sputnik, the Russian state-funded news media platform. The article puts a central component of Walter Fisher’s classic narrative paradigm to the test: the notions of narrative probability (consistency and coherence) and fidelity (previous life experience). In a rare large-scale survey experiment ( N = 2,032), three narratives from Sputnik were presented to respondents to establish the potential perceived narrative probability and fidelity. Contrary to Fisher’s argument and some previous works on strategic narratives, the results show that people can be persuaded by a narrative without having personal experience of the topic, and despite regarding the text as incoherent. This indicates that information influence projected through strategic narratives can be effective regardless of the form of the message and even when introducing unfamiliar ideas. This is an interesting addition to findings in previous studies that source awareness does not negatively affect the effectiveness of strategic narratives. The article ends by highlighting contributions to previous research on persuasion and by suggesting avenues ahead.

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Epilogue: “Nordicness” – theory and practice

Cited by 10 publications

References 27 publications

Illiberal deliberation: Communist regime travel controls as state capacity in everyday world politics

Illiberal deliberation: Communist regime travel controls as state capacity in everyday world politics

The political economy of Norwegian peacemaking in Myanmar’s peace process

Ringing true? The persuasiveness of Russian strategic narratives

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