Abstract
It was not very long ago that any attempt to fit these three words — context, identity and narrative — into a sentence about European security would have been frowned upon in the academic circles of International Relations (IR) and security studies. A sign of the paradigmatic debates and epistemological anxieties of these disciplines, there is still a perceived need to demonstrate the empirical relevance and analytical prowess of any conceptual framework that centres on these categories. This is therefore a double challenge. On the one hand, students of security must show that, for example, ‘identity’ or ‘narrative’ gives us significant explanatory or hermeneutical purchase in a field of interaction typically circumscribed by the categories ‘anarchy’ and ‘material capability’. On the other, one is also compelled to show that ‘identity’ is not only a useful conceptual lens but also something that has profound relevance for the actors under investigation. European security offers a particularly complex illustration of this dynamic interplay between the political and hermeneutical relevance of the categories and concepts used by actors and analysts alike.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
Preview
Unable to display preview. Download preview PDF.
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Copyright information
© 2007 Felix Ciută
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Ciută, F. (2007). Narratives of Security: Strategy and Identity in the European Context. In: Mole, R.C.M. (eds) Discursive Constructions of Identity in European Politics. Language and Globalization. Palgrave Macmillan, London. https://doi.org/10.1057/9780230591301_10
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1057/9780230591301_10
Publisher Name: Palgrave Macmillan, London
Print ISBN: 978-1-349-35488-7
Online ISBN: 978-0-230-59130-1
eBook Packages: Palgrave Language & Linguistics CollectionEducation (R0)