Narrative power: how storytelling shapes East Asian international politics

Abstract

We are living at a time when people appear to have become more aware of the power of narratives in international politics. Understanding how narratives exercise power is therefore more pertinent than ever. This special issue develops the concept of narrative power for international relations research by focusing on East Asia-the region that has been at the centre of debates about international power shifts since the 1990s. This introduction seeks to elucidate and define four key binary distinctions: (a) narrative power as understood from the perspective of an individualist versus a narrative ontology; (b) narrative power as explanandum versus explanans; (c) narrative power as more prone to continuity or change; and (d) the scholar as a detached observer of narrative power versus the scholar as a narrative entrepreneur and a potential wielder of power. Informed by the individual contributions, the introduction demonstrates how and with what implications research on narrative power can negotiate and traverse these binary distinctions.

The Post-Pandemic World: between Constitutionalized and Authoritarian Orders – China’s Narrative-Power Play in the Pandemic Era

“…In the context of the International System Narrative, a growing China (economically, politically and militarily), as an agent inherent in the system, is narrated with the characteristics of a rising power that might be a challenge or threat to the existing liberal world order and Westphalian system [79]. Most straightforwardly, a narrative concerning the Thucydides trap, a deadly pattern of structural pressure that happens when a rising power challenges a ruling one, is currently prevailing and narrates conflict relations between China and the US, which are destined for war [78].…”

“…Narrative is constructive and has a function in meaning-making and perception-altering, which brings with it great additional effects. A narrative tells a story concerning particular events, it seizes and demonstrates experiences with which an audience can relate and empathize [2]. Narrative construction can very likely "structure and exercise power over the subsequent discussion of issues as well as the policies adopted to deal with them" ([2]: 388).…”

“…Narrative construction can very likely "structure and exercise power over the subsequent discussion of issues as well as the policies adopted to deal with them" ([2]: 388). Generally speaking, the role of narratives in International Relations has long been recognized [2,3], yet the nature of narratives and the processes by which they are constructed by the actors and perceived by the receivers have not been thoroughly explored. The literature, for instance, focuses primarily on the links between domestic narratives and foreign policy, or on Western powers as the major actors [4][5][6].…”

“…Besides this, social media (Twitter, Youtube, et cetera) will be used as an auxiliary resource because the pandemic is a current and ongoing issue and the role of social media in narrative discussion should not be ignored. 2 Then the second level, the discourse analysis, will be integrated with knowledge obtained from the first level to establish the interweaving links between the texts and the contexts.…”

Destruct, direct and suppress: Sputnik narratives on the Nordic countries

“…We contribute to the literature that uses narrative frameworks to explain phenomena related to international relations (see Hagström and Gustafsson 2019), and more specifically to research on strategic narratives (see Miskimmon, O'Loughlin, and Roselle 2017). The narrative concept has been underdeveloped in research and it tends to be superficially applied as a synonym to rhetoric or discourse (Hagström and Gustafsson 2019, 388;Spencer 2016).…”