This book systematically explores
how different theoretical concepts of myth can be utilised to interpretively
explore contemporary international politics. From the international community
to warlords, from participation to effectiveness - international politics is
replete with powerful narratives and commonly held beliefs that qualify as
myths. Rebutting the understanding of myth-as-lie, this collection of essays
unearths the ideological, naturalising, and depoliticising effect of myths.





Myth and Narrative in
International Politics: Interpretive Approaches to the Study of IR
offers conceptual and methodological guidance on how to make sense of different
myth theories and how to employ them in order to explore the powerful
collective imaginations and ambiguities that underpin international politics
today. Further, it assembles case studies of specific myths in different fields
of International Relations, including warfare, global governance,
interventionism, development aid, and statebuilding. The findings challenge
conventional assumptions in International Relations, encouraging academics in IR and across a range of different fields
and disciplines, including development studies, global governance studies,
strategic and military studies, intervention and statebuilding studies, and
peace and conflict studies, to rethink ideas that are widely unquestioned by
policy and academic communities.