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ABSTRACT
The contribution introduces narrative analysis as a discourse analytical method for investigating the social construction of foreign policy fiascos. Based on insights from literary studies and narratology it shows that stories of failure include a number of key elements, including a particular setting which defines appropriate behaviour; the negative characterization of agents; as well as an emplotment of the ‘fiasco’ through the attribution of cause and responsibility. The contribution illustrates this method through a narrative analysis of German media reporting on Germany's abstention in the United Nations Security Council vote on Resolution 1973 in March 2011 regarding the military intervention in Libya.
KEY WORDS:
Notes
1 There are a number of very different approaches to narrative analysis within political science. While some highlight the role of the narrator or the aspect of changing narratives over time (Miskimmon et al. Citation2013; Patterson and Monroe Citation1998), our approach emphasizes the narrative elements of setting, characterization and emplotment as analytical categories for the empirical analysis, as these give an insight into a dominant narrative on particular empirical events during a certain time period.
2 All references to the quoted material can be found in the online appendix.
Additional information
Notes on contributors
Kai Oppermann
Biographical notes: Kai Oppermann is Reader in politics at the University of Sussex, UK.
Alexander Spencer
Alexander Spencer is Associate Professor at the Ludwig-Maximilians-University Munich, Germany.