Can Strategic Narrative Be Effective? Infrastructure, Intention, Experience – Ben O’Loughlin Wednesday, February 8, 2012
Ben O’Loughlin analyses how strategic narratives are a means for political actors to construct a shared meaning of international politics to shape the behaviour of domestic and international actors. They are critical to explaining change in the international system. In his presentation he examines three challenges in particular: (i) how changing information infrastructures alter how shared meanings are constructed; (ii) why many narratives seem to escape the intentions of their original authors; and (iii) to which extent target audiences may ‘buy in’ to a major power’s narrative but still not experience international politics as that major power hoped.