Narrative Traditions in International Politics

This book introduces the concept of narrative tradition to study representation ininternational politics. Focusing specifically on the case of Turkey, the book showshow narrative traditions are constructed, maintained, and passed on by a looseepistemic community that involves practitioners and experts including scholars,journalists, diplomats, and political representatives. Employing an interpretativeapproach, the book distinguishes between four narrative traditions in the studyof Turkey: Turkey as a state that is (1) getting lost, (2) standing at a decisivecrossroad, (3) led by strongmen, and (4) struggling with a creeping Islamisation.These narrative traditions carry enduring beliefs that not only describe, moralise,judge, and stigmatise Turkey, but also contribute to the idea of the West. Thebook focuses on knowledge that is produced from a Western perspective, showingthat Turkey provides a channel through which the Western self can be debated,challenged, celebrated, and judged.