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This article outlines how Germany has sought to project a strategic narrative of the Eurozone crisis. Germany has been placed center stage in the Eurozone crisis, and as a consequence, the German government's crisis narrative matters for the future of the common currency. We highlight how the German government has sought to narrate a story of the cause of the Eurozone crisis and present policy solutions to influence policy decisions within the EU and maintain domestic political support. This focus on the public communication of the crisis is central to understanding the development of Germany's policy as it was negotiated with EU partners, the U.S. and international financial institutions. We draw on speeches and interviews by Chancellor Angela Merkel and two of her senior cabinet ministers delivered at key moments of the Eurozone crisis between May 2010 and June 2012. The article argues that while Merkel and her governments have been able to shore up domestic support for her Eurozone policies, she has struggled to find a coherent strategic narrative that is both consistent with German domestic preferences and historical memory, and with those of other Eurozone members.

Power in international relations implies not only the possession of outstanding material resources, but also the ability to proposeand popularize attractive ideas, values, and norms and thus control discourse. Scholars note that during the presidencyof Xi Jinping, the People's Republic of China (PRC) has joined the struggle for discursive hegemony. This change in China'sforeign policy requires systematic study, for which the concept of a strategic narrative has analytical value. As defined byA. Miskimmon, B. O'Loughlin and L. Roselle, strategic narratives "are a means for political actors to construct a sharedmeaning of the past, present, and future of international politics to shape the behavior of domestic and international actors."This article provides an overview of strategic narratives as a conceptual lens to study international relations, summarizesthe existing research of strategic narratives in general and regarding the Chinese case in particular, and suggestsdirections for future studies. The core idea of Chinese strategic narratives is that the PRC is a new type of great power that iscapable of changing the existing unjust and conflict-prone world order. At the same time, China does not propose to radicallyrevise the international system – it portrays the world as divided into great powers and the rest. Overall, China's strategicnarratives are characterized by a duality that reflects the complexity of China's foreign policy interests and its attempt toexpand the field of opportunity. Aimed to support different agendas, narratives include references both to the "century ofhumiliation" and the more recent successful experience of China's modernization. The content of the narratives suggeststhat China is mainly trying to attract the developing countries of the Global South and thus form its own group of followers.However, there is significant variation in communication processes, namely the formation, projection, and reception ofChina's strategic narratives. The study of this variation, as well as the analysis of the effectiveness of Chinese narratives, isa promising direction for future research.

In the battle of narratives to give meaning to the international system in the twenty-firstcentury, emerging powers are actively engaged. In particular, the BRICS group, comprising Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa, have advanced their claim to reconstitute international affairs to make it more just and fair. What if their narratives about the international system effectively contest narratives constituting the Liberal World Order? For understanding the battle more profoundly, this study examines the strategic narratives of the BRICS. A documentary methodology was employed to elicit themes and narratives in BRICS joint communiqués of 2009 to 2016 for the identification of its strategic narratives. I have identified a system narrative of global recovery, an identity narrative of inclusive participation and an issue narrative of infrastructural development. A narrative grammar was used to relate BRICS strategic narratives with their narrative environment of symbolic, institutional and material practices. Due to a partial compliance with the narrative grammatical rules, the BRICS group may not effectively influence and gain public support.