Romantic Narratives in International Politics: Pirates, Rebels and Mercenaries

Romantic Narratives in International Politics is a story about the importance of stories in International Relations (IR). It brings insights from literary studies and narratology into IR and political science by developing a new discourse analytical method of narrative analysis. Focusing on the three elements of setting, characterization and employment, the book argues that narratives are of fundamental importance for human cognition and identity construction; they help us understand the social and political world in which we live.

Empirically the book looks at narratives about pirates, rebels and private military and security companies (PMSCs). It illustrates in the case of pirates and rebels that the romantic images embedded in cultural stories influence our understanding of modern piracy in places like Somalia or rebels in Libya. Dominant romantic tales marginalize other, less flattering, stories about these actors, in which they are constituted as terrorists and made responsible for human rights violations. In contrast, in the case of PMSCs in Iraq the absence of such romantic cultural stories makes it difficult for such actors to successfully narrate themselves as romantic heroes to the public.

This book will be of interest to students and teachers of international relations, political science and cultural studies.