Discourse Analysis and Discourse Theory

Discourse analysis and discourse theories have become an established way for analyzing the social construction of foreign policy. Despite being a broad tent of approaches, all types of discourse analysis share a common interest in revealing the political ideas, linguistic practices, and social relations that constitute foreign policies from a bottom-up perspective. Having a sophisticated concept of power, discourse approaches are also able to show how social structures influence foreign policy-making and how agency and structures interact to produce a hegemonic policy idea. The strength of discourse approaches for Foreign Policy Analysis (FPA) lies in their ability to understand and explain the social foundations of foreign policy, its construction, and the meanings attached to it. The chapter gives an overview of how discourse analysis has been applied to foreign policy issues. It presents its central concepts, discusses methodological issues, and provides different theoretical orientations while also highlighting limitations and challenges when applying it.