Suchergebnisse

Analysing narratives, identity, memory, and war -- Britain and the banality of continuous war -- Britain's material decline : small island syndrome -- Punching above its weight or vanishing force : five narratives about Britain and war -- Progressive narratives of Britain and war -- Is Britain a force for good? : Emplotment and narrative coherence -- Forgetting 9/11 : narrative and collective memory -- Looking to the future.

It is commonly assumed in the foreign policy literature that narratives are uniquely persuasive and thus integral to obtaining public support for war. Yet, empirical research on "strategic narrative" is often vague on both the concept of narrative and how it persuades. Moreover, the stories publics use to interpret war are rarely examined. This paper offers a novel approach to studying "from the ground up" the war stories of individual British citizens. It examines public interpretations of war through emplotment: the way people select and link events to create a coherent story. Examining the wars people include and those they silence, it illustrates how a diverse range of citizens morally evaluates Britain's military role, be it as a Force for Good, a Force for Ill or a country Learning from its Mistakes. In doing so, the paper offers an alternative methodological approach to studying how individual citizens understand war.

Communications practitioners continue to see strategic narrative as vital to securing domestic support or opposition to war. Yet despite an extensive literature on the narratives states construct, the stories domestic citizens tell about war are rarely examined. Consequently, the formation of strategic narratives is only informed by the stories governments think citizens tell, rather than those they actually tell. This paper presents a qualitative analysis of the stories the British public tell about their country's role in war. Focusing on genre—the general pattern of a given story—it reveals five narratives citizens use to interpret Britain's military role. These portray Britain as Punching Above its Weight; a Vanishing Force; Learning from its Mistakes; being Led Astray, or a Selfish Imperialist. At a time of uncertainty about Britain's international role following the 'Brexit' vote, it provides an in-depth perspective on a state where military intervention is commonplace but understanding of public interpretations of war remains limited.

In 2019, the authors led a workshop at King's College London examining how to study 4chan and assess their association with the Alt-Right. Unbeknownst to the authors, a participant was a 4chan user and started a mid-workshop thread on its notorious /pol/ (politically incorrect) board. It gained significant attention. Reviewing it later, the authors realised that this parallel thread illustrates perfectly the challenges researching 4chan – and similar – communities. We conducted discourse analysis on this unique dataset, providing an alternative perspective to predominant anthropological and informatic approaches. Our analysis enhances understanding of 'free-extremist' communities such as 4chan in several ways. It assesses how the /pol/ community responds to observation and provides new insights into roles influencers might have in radicalising others. It illustrates the value of discourse analysis in evaluating users' associations with the Alt-Right. Finally, it proposes ways researchers can overcome the challenges faced when analysing such communities.

Communication has long been accepted as integral to the conduct of international affairs. The role that discourses, ideas, norms and narratives play at the systemic level of world politics has been examined extensively. Scholarly interest has now turned to how international actors use political communication tools to create and counter threats, such as propaganda, hybrid warfare, fake news and election tampering, and it is often taken for granted that states are inferior to their challengers in these domains. To address this, 'Strategic Communications' has emerged as a mode of thought and practice promising to enhance state communication; encompassing long-established activities including public diplomacy, public relations, nation branding and information operations. In this developing field, private sector professionals are increasingly being called on to support and advise governments. Particular attention has been paid to the 'Big Data' private companies may have access to, but there has been little IR research examining the experts seeking changes in how strategic communications is practised. Informed by elite interviews with communication professionals across the public-private space, this article sets out a research agenda to fill this gap, enhancing understanding of the expert relationships that shape international strategic communications.

AbstractCommunication has long been accepted as integral to the conduct of international affairs. The role that discourses, ideas, norms, and narratives play at the systemic level of world politics has been examined extensively. Scholarly interest has now turned to how international actors use political communication tools to create and counter threats, such as propaganda, hybrid warfare, fake news, and election tampering, and it is often taken for granted that states are inferior to their challengers in these domains. To address this, 'Strategic Communications' has emerged as a mode of thought and practice promising to enhance state communication; encompassing long-established activities including public diplomacy, public relations, nation branding, and information operations. In this developing field, private sector professionals are increasingly being called on to support and advise governments. Particular attention has been paid to the 'Big Data' private companies may have access to, but there has been little IR research examining the experts seeking changes in how strategic communications is practised. Informed by elite interviews with communication professionals across the public-private space, this article sets out a research agenda to fill this gap, enhancing understanding of the expert relationships that shape international strategic communications.

1. Introduction: Strategic Narratives and Global Policy Initiatives -- 2. Strategic Narratives, Ontological Security and Policy Change -- 3. China's Belt and Road Strategic Narratives up to the Second Belt and Road Forum -- 4. Accepting the Belt and Road Initiative: Kazakhstan and Italy -- 5. Ontological Security Concerns about the Belt and Road Initiative: the UK and the Netherlands -- 6. Rejecting the Belt and Road Initiative: the USA and India -- 7. Material Concerns about the Belt and Road Initiative: Mexico and the Maldives -- 8. China's COVID-19 Strategic Narratives in 2020 and How States Responded to Them -- 9. Conclusion.

1. Introduction: Strategic Narratives and Global Policy Initiatives -- 2. Strategic Narratives, Ontological Security and Policy Change -- 3. China's Belt and Road Strategic Narratives up to the Second Belt and Road Forum -- 4. Accepting the Belt and Road Initiative: Kazakhstan and Italy -- 5. Ontological Security Concerns about the Belt and Road Initiative: the UK and the Netherlands -- 6. Rejecting the Belt and Road Initiative: the USA and India -- 7. Material Concerns about the Belt and Road Initiative: Mexico and the Maldives -- 8. China's COVID-19 Strategic Narratives in 2020 and How States Responded to Them -- 9. Conclusion.