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.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Notes on contributors

Linus Hagström is Professor of Political Science at the Swedish Defence University and a senior research fellow at the Swedish Institute of International Affairs. He has recently published articles in Journal of Japanese Studies, Survival, European Political Science, Washington Quarterly, Review of International Studies and European Journal of International Relations, and edited special issues for Asian Perspective and the Pacific Review. Email: [email protected]

Karl Gustafsson is a senior lecturer in international relations at Stockholm University and senior research fellow at the Swedish Institute of International Affairs. He has recently published articles in Journal of International Relations and Development, Survival, European Political Science, Memory Studies, Review of International Studies, Cooperation and Conflict and China: An International Journal. He won the Wang Gungwu Prize for best article in Asian Studies Review in 2014. Email: [email protected]