The hoax of war: The foreign policy discourses of Poland and Bulgaria on Iraq, 2003-2005

Emilian Kavalski, Magdalena Zolkos

Research output: Journal PublicationArticlepeer-review

21 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

An analysis of Poland's and Bulgaria's foreign policy articulations on Iraq provides a discursive platform not only for the manifestation of national self-positioning in the international arena, but also for the expression of national fears and the re-contextualization of historical narratives. The claim is that the Iraq war became a 'hoax' for public expressions of the 'essence of the nation'. Despite the different conditions and historical experience, in both Poland and Bulgaria the foreign policy discourses on Iraq conjured up a fictitious construct of the nation, which, while playing on the (apathetic) credulity of the public, facilitated the radicalization of the political discourse in both countries by undermining the assertion of diversity as a precondition of politics and instead has invoked the imagination of ethnic and moral unity. The conclusion, therefore, is that the foreign policy discourses on Iraq attest to the possibility of the erosion of politics in the post-communist countries.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)377-393
Number of pages17
JournalJournal of Contemporary European Studies
Volume15
Issue number3
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - Dec 2007
Externally publishedYes

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Cultural Studies
  • Sociology and Political Science
  • Political Science and International Relations

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