Strategic Narratives: Communication Power and the New World Order

Miskimmon, O'Loughlin, and Roselle developed the concept of strategic narratives into a systematic analytical framework for understanding how political actors — states, institutions, movements — project and contest meaning in international affairs. The book identifies three levels of narrative: system narratives (about world order), identity narratives (about who an actor is), and issue narratives (about specific policy contests). The framework integrates communication theory with international relations, filling a conceptual gap that IR had long left open.

The concept of the strategic narrative has since become foundational in influence operations analysis, strategic communications doctrine, and FIMI research. When analysts and policymakers talk about countering Russian or Chinese 'narratives', they are — often without acknowledging it — working within the analytical tradition that this book established. Understanding the theoretical apparatus behind the term is important: strategic narratives are not merely messages but structured claims about who actors are, what the world is, and what course of action is required. Countering them requires operating at the same level of abstraction, not just at the level of individual claims. Essential theoretical groundwork for anyone working in strategic communications or influence operations.