Foreign Policy and Discourse Analysis (Electronic book text)

In this book Henrik Larsen presents discourse analysis as an alternative approach to foreign policy analysis. Through an extensive empirical study of French and British policies towards Europe in the 1980s he demonstrates the importance of political discourse in shaping foreign policy. The author discusses key theoretical problems within traditional belief system approaches and proposes an alternative one, political discourse analysis. The approach is located within the discipline of foreign policy analysis and consideration is given to the implications of its use for the study of international relations. The theory is illustrated through detailed analyses of British and French discourses on Europe, nation/state security and the nature of international relations. Henrik Larsen demonstrates the usefulness of the discourse approach as a tool for understanding of foreign policy. His book will be of great value to undergraduates, postgraduates and lecturers in international relations and European politics.