ABSTRACT
This chapter considers the strategic use of narratives in security. It reviews existing inter-disciplinary literature and builds on recent International Relations (IR) scholarship on strategic narratives. Focusing on the concept of strategic narrative, the chapter addresses the role of strategic communication in foreign policy and military endeavors, thereby bridging discussions in the political communication literature. Scholarship on strategic narratives shows that national power goes beyond the realist focus on material capabilities, hence building upon the literature on soft and smart power. This chapter illustrates the influence of strategic narratives through the lens of U.S.-led military interventions and exit strategies since the early 1990s. Specifically, I argue that narrative consistency and multilateral narrative congruence are key variables in explaining post-conflict state behavior. Their interplay influences the coherence of peacebuilding activities, burden-sharing, and institutional arrangements in multilateral missions and, indeed, exit strategies. These findings have wider implications for how scholars and policy-makers conceptualize communication and security policy in the era of fake news.
