Political Narrative
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Political narrative is a term used in the
humanities Humanities are academic disciplines that study aspects of human society and culture, including Philosophy, certain fundamental questions asked by humans. During the Renaissance, the term "humanities" referred to the study of classical literature a ...
and
political science Political science is the scientific study of politics. It is a social science dealing with systems of governance and Power (social and political), power, and the analysis of political activities, political philosophy, political thought, polit ...
s to describe the way in which storytelling can shape fact and effect understandings of reality. However, political narrative is not only a theoretical concept, it is also a tool employed by political figures in order to construct the perspectives of people within their environment and alter relationships between social groups and individuals. As a result, fiction has the potential to become fact and myths become intertwined into public discourse. Political narrative is consequential in its ability to elicit
pathos Pathos appeals to the emotions and ideals of the audience and elicits feelings that already reside in them. ''Pathos'' is a term most often used in rhetoric (in which it is considered one of the three modes of persuasion, alongside ethos and ...
, allowing the narrative to be influential through the value it provides rather than the truth that is told. Meta-narratives are an important component to political narratives as it encompasses the artificiality of storytelling within a political context. They are central in shaping understandings of reality through the creation of history under the guise of grandeur and tales of development or expansion. __TOC__


Background

The notion of political narrative stems from concepts illustrated in narrative theory, which has become increasingly popular in the humanities and political science as a result of the popularisation of "
fake news Fake news or information disorder is false or misleading information (misinformation, disinformation, propaganda, and hoaxes) claiming the aesthetics and legitimacy of news. Fake news often has the aim of damaging the reputation of a person ...
" following the
inauguration of Donald Trump Inauguration of Donald Trump may refer to: * First inauguration of Donald Trump The United States presidential inauguration, inauguration of Donald Trump as the 45th president of the United States marked the commencement of Trump's first term ...
in 2017. The study of narrative began at the beginning of the 20th century and experienced a resurgence in the 1970s when
feminist Feminism is a range of socio-political movements and ideology, ideologies that aim to define and establish the political, economic, personal, and social gender equality, equality of the sexes. Feminism holds the position that modern soci ...
researchers began to highlight the way in which women's lives are framed in storytelling - and this research has subsequently pioneered research on gendered political narrative today. Narrative theory grew from the ideas present within literary theory which experienced reform during the 1940s when novels began to gain validity as a medium for literary study. Poetry and drama had been valued for the aesthetic in its form and structure, however, novels became significant for their ability to influence the reader more broadly. Narrative theory emerged from the notion that stories are able to provide an illustration of human nature rather than just impersonal narrations. Ideas surrounding narrative and political science began as a result of work conducted by scholar Walter R. Fisher who conceptualised the term
narrative paradigm Narrative paradigm is a communication theory conceptualized by 20th-century communication scholar Walter Fisher. The paradigm claims that all meaningful communication occurs via storytelling or reporting of events.International Journal of Educati ...
in order to contend that narrative is the most persuasive form of communication and is thus central to politics.


Various uses of political narrative


The 2016 US Election

The power of narrative and storytelling in politics has been highlighted by the
2016 United States presidential election United States presidential election, Presidential elections were held in the United States on November 8, 2016. The Republican Party (United States), Republican ticket of businessman Donald Trump and Indiana Governor, Indiana governor Mike P ...
which created an environment that allowed storytelling to become the basis for building shared senses of belonging between people. The collective nature of the identities and opinions that formed around these stories, and the sentiment of the narrative's message swayed the vote that people cast. The narrative of cultural loss that was perpetuated by Trump throughout his campaign built on the
moral panic A moral panic is a widespread feeling of fear that some evil person or thing threatens the values, interests, or well-being of a community or society. It is "the process of arousing social concern over an issue", usually perpetuated by moral e ...
that had already existed within the country. Theories of political narrative suggest that the emergence of certain types of narrative occur out of the sentiments already within our culture, and that political actors are simply suggesting the way in which the situation ought to be restored. The narratives that were used during 2016 US Election largely revolved around the
Hillary Clinton email controversy During Hillary Clinton's tenure as Secretary of State, her tenure as the United States secretary of state, Hillary Clinton drew controversy by using a private email server for official public communications rather than using official State Depa ...
, Russian interference during the election, immigration policy and economic policy. Sociologist Arlie Hochschild coins these narratives as ''deep stories'' to describe the way in which emotions often outweigh facts when political narratives are told.


Australia and the Children Overboard affair

The use of political narrative is often undertaken in order to counteract perceived threats in a society as acting against a common threat can mobilise political support and distract attention from underlying problems. Philip Ruddock, the Minister for Immigration at the time of the event, stated to the media on October 7, 2001 that the Australian Defence Force intervened when a suspected 'illegal entry vessel' entered Australian waters and allegedly threw their children overboard. This story was further perpetuated by various high-profile ministers of the Australian Government, such as the Minister for Defence, Peter Reith, and the Prime Minister, John Howard.The report of the Select Committee on a Certain Maritime Incident. (2002). nlineCommonwealth of Australia. Available at: https://www.aph.gov.au/binaries/senate/committee/maritime_incident_ctte/report/report.pdf However, this story was shut down by the Australian Senate Select Committee for an inquiry into a maritime incident which found that Philip Ruddock and the other government ministers had used this narrative as a political tool during the 2001 Federal Election campaign. Narrative has been used throughout Australia's political history. Political speeches are one of the most notable tools to convey political narratives in Australia, and this is done annually through the Australian budget speech which sustains a narrative told by the
Commonwealth A commonwealth is a traditional English term for a political community founded for the common good. The noun "commonwealth", meaning "public welfare, general good or advantage", dates from the 15th century. Originally a phrase (the common-wealth ...
on governance and expenditure. While political speeches are not unique to the Australian context, they have historically shaped many milestones for the nation, notably those surrounding Indigenous affairs, such as Prime Minister Kevin Rudd's
Apology to Australia's Indigenous peoples On 13 February 2008, the Parliament of Australia issued a formal apology to Indigenous Australians for forced removals of Indigenous Australians, Australian Indigenous children (often referred to as the Stolen Generations) from their familie ...
in 2008.


Nazi Germany and Anti-semitism

Propaganda Propaganda is communication that is primarily used to influence or persuade an audience to further an agenda, which may not be objective and may be selectively presenting facts to encourage a particular synthesis or perception, or using loaded l ...
is a tool often employed by political figures in order to shape the opinions of particular people and expand and interweave their narratives into the realities of society.
Nazi propaganda Propaganda was a tool of the Nazi Party in Germany from its earliest days to the end of the regime in May 1945 at the end of World War II. As the party gained power, the scope and efficacy of its propaganda grew and permeated an increasing amou ...
was an extremely suppressive tool used by
Adolf Hitler Adolf Hitler (20 April 1889 – 30 April 1945) was an Austrian-born German politician who was the dictator of Nazi Germany from 1933 until Death of Adolf Hitler, his suicide in 1945. Adolf Hitler's rise to power, He rose to power as the lea ...
's dictatorial regime to spread lies for his political gain. The consistency of the narrative told by the Nazi party has been argued by historians to be a factor which led to the large scale at which the systematic
genocide Genocide is violence that targets individuals because of their membership of a group and aims at the destruction of a people. Raphael Lemkin, who first coined the term, defined genocide as "the destruction of a nation or of an ethnic group" by ...
against Jewish people during the
Holocaust The Holocaust (), known in Hebrew language, Hebrew as the (), was the genocide of History of the Jews in Europe, European Jews during World War II. From 1941 to 1945, Nazi Germany and Collaboration with Nazi Germany and Fascist Italy ...
was able to be committed. The tools that were used to spread the narrative included
speech Speech is the use of the human voice as a medium for language. Spoken language combines vowel and consonant sounds to form units of meaning like words, which belong to a language's lexicon. There are many different intentional speech acts, suc ...
es,
essay An essay ( ) is, generally, a piece of writing that gives the author's own argument, but the definition is vague, overlapping with those of a Letter (message), letter, a term paper, paper, an article (publishing), article, a pamphlet, and a s ...
s,
newspaper articles A newspaper is a periodical publication containing written information about current events and is often typed in black ink with a white or gray background. Newspapers can cover a wide variety of fields such as politics, business, sports, art, ...
,
film A film, also known as a movie or motion picture, is a work of visual art that simulates experiences and otherwise communicates ideas, stories, perceptions, emotions, or atmosphere through the use of moving images that are generally, sinc ...
s,
book A book is a structured presentation of recorded information, primarily verbal and graphical, through a medium. Originally physical, electronic books and audiobooks are now existent. Physical books are objects that contain printed material, ...
s, the
education Education is the transmission of knowledge and skills and the development of character traits. Formal education occurs within a structured institutional framework, such as public schools, following a curriculum. Non-formal education als ...
system and
poster A poster is a large sheet that is placed either on a public space to promote something or on a wall as decoration. Typically, posters include both typography, textual and graphic elements, although a poster may be either wholly graphical or w ...
s.
Joseph Goebbels Paul Joseph Goebbels (; 29 October 1897 – 1 May 1945) was a German Nazism, Nazi politician and philologist who was the ''Gauleiter'' (district leader) of Berlin, chief Propaganda in Nazi Germany, propagandist for the Nazi Party, and ...
was the Minister of Propaganda for the Nazi party who masterminded the regime's use of Jewish people to
scapegoat In the Bible, a scapegoat is one of a pair of kid goats that is released into the wilderness, taking with it all sins and impurities, while the other is sacrificed. The concept first appears in the Book of Leviticus, in which a goat is designate ...
for the social and economic frustrations of the
interwar period In the history of the 20th century, the interwar period, also known as the interbellum (), lasted from 11 November 1918 to 1 September 1939 (20 years, 9 months, 21 days) – from the end of World War I (WWI) to the beginning of World War II ( ...
as a result of the losses of
World War One World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting took place mainly in Europe and th ...
and the stipulations placed on Germany as a result of the
Treaty of Versailles The Treaty of Versailles was a peace treaty signed on 28 June 1919. As the most important treaty of World War I, it ended the state of war between Germany and most of the Allies of World War I, Allied Powers. It was signed in the Palace ...
. The narratives constructed by Nazi Germany are important to consider when discussing political narratives as they encompass the way in which falsehoods and the elimination of fact can have detrimental outcomes. Storytelling in this context is not only employed as a political tool, but is also a means through which ideologies are built through a skewed political reality.


Gendered political narrative

Narratives in politics often exclude marginalised groups, including women, due to the
patriarchal Patriarchy is a social system in which positions of authority are primarily held by men. The term ''patriarchy'' is used both in anthropology to describe a family or clan controlled by the father or eldest male or group of males, and in fem ...
history of the political system. The concepts behind gendered political narrative include the way in which women are framed in these narratives and the way that they have been omitted from creating them. This is largely to do with the lack of representation of women in politics and the
gender inequality Gender inequality is the social phenomenon in which people are not treated equally on the basis of gender. This inequality can be caused by gender discrimination or sexism. The treatment may arise from distinctions regarding biology, psychology ...
that still exists today which contribute to the lack of empowered female narratives in political arenas. The importance of gender in political narratives is seen in its influential role in shaping the make-up of society, from the way we organise to the way we think. Thus, the male dominated way in which political decisions have been made and continue to be made today in the 21st century highlight the reason why political narratives started to become feminist with the Suffragette Movement and the increase of Women's Rights activists in the late 19th and early 20th century.


Media and the facilitation of political narrative

The media has had a key role in the facilitation and perpetuation of political narratives. In Australia, the media was used as a tool for spreading the narrative created for the Children Overboard affair to the public. More significantly, media played an extremely important role in the 2016 US presidential election not only within the United States, but also globally. However, the election campaign also highlighted the increasing significance of social media in facilitating political narratives as it has become the most used platform to access news sources. The media is often linked to
political violence Political violence is violence which is perpetrated in order to achieve political goals. It can include violence which is used by a State (polity), state against other states (war), violence which is used by a state against civilians and non-st ...
and the ways in which
terrorism Terrorism, in its broadest sense, is the use of violence against non-combatants to achieve political or ideological aims. The term is used in this regard primarily to refer to intentional violence during peacetime or in the context of war aga ...
prevails as a result of the distribution of messages through media outlets. However, the media is multifaceted and unique in its ability to portray multiple narratives while remaining impersonal. While media outlets run stories relevant to the people within their country, international news sources are essential in the perpetuation of political narratives outside of the storytellers target audience. The 2016 election is an exemplary example of the way in which narratives flow from place to place as the powerful nature of the United States media infrastructure allowed for content to be accessed limitlessly by international media. However, while the narratives during the election were not intended for audiences outside of the US, the international attention meant that they had an impact on global political actors.


See also

*
Narrative A narrative, story, or tale is any account of a series of related events or experiences, whether non-fictional (memoir, biography, news report, documentary, travel literature, travelogue, etc.) or fictional (fairy tale, fable, legend, thriller ...
*
Narrative paradigm Narrative paradigm is a communication theory conceptualized by 20th-century communication scholar Walter Fisher. The paradigm claims that all meaningful communication occurs via storytelling or reporting of events.International Journal of Educati ...
*
Storytelling Storytelling is the social and cultural activity of sharing narrative, stories, sometimes with improvisation, theatre, theatrics or embellishment. Every culture has its own narratives, which are shared as a means of entertainment, education, cul ...
*
Political discourse Discourse analysis (DA), or discourse studies, is an approach to the analysis of written, spoken, or sign language, including any significant semiotic event. The objects of discourse analysis (discourse, writing, conversation, communicative e ...
*
Media and politics Media may refer to: Communication * Means of communication, tools and channels used to deliver information or data ** Advertising media, various media, content, buying and placement for advertising ** Interactive media, media that is inte ...


References

{{Narrative Critical theory Metanarratives Literary criticism