Introduction to narratives Flashcards
Support insurgency analysis (3)
Identify the main elements of a narrative within an insurgency
Understand how narratives evolve during the course of an insurgency
Categorize narratives and hypothesize future narrative transitions in contemporary insurgencies
Two most important aspects of a narrative?
They craft or support a believable story
They couple this story with actionable plans for those who encounter it.
Believable story? (7)
A story that explains how facts came to be
Consistent drivers of narrative (socio-economic deprivation, political grievances, cultural context)
Good narratives can explain a series of events and occurrences
They examine a political or social or economic, or cultural phenomenon-like inequality or injustice and they explain the root of that phenomenon according to their world view
Create a story with cast of characters that fall on one side or the other
A good narrative will not just cite relative deprivation or “unmet expectations” but will explain why the expectations were not met
It assigns blame and identifies opportunities for resolution
Story forms? (5)
Conflict with God (Deity)
Deliverance
Ruse
Betrayal
Noble sacrifice
Definition of archetype and examples?
A very typical example of a certain person or thing// a recurrent symbol or motif in literature, art, or mythology.
Barbarian, champion, crusader, deity, imposter, martyr, prophet, sage,…
Abstraction + 3 levels
Ideology (an explicit belief and ritual system) to tradition (taken for granted cultural belief and practices), and to common sense (unself-conscious assumptions about how the world works).
Personal narratives, master narratives, rhetorical narratives
Plan of Action?
Must explain very specifically how listeners can insert themselves into the struggle it presents
Narratives that paints violence not only as a right, given the context of the story, but as an obligation.
Effort to counter a narrative must include the same qualities (2)
A believable story
A plan of action
Implications for planners
Specific desired objectives and effects
Key target audiences
Information channels
Audience characteristics
Timed to influence actors before they decide or act, before attitudes crystallize
They rely upon messages with compelling message characteristics
They facilitate adaptation
Definition of frames
action-oriented sets of beliefs and meanings that inspire and legitimize the activities and campaigns of a social movement organization
Three types of frames?
Diagnostic frames
Prognostic frames
Motivational frames
Diagnostic frame
contains a description of the problem and an identification of the victims
Prognostic frame
articulates a proposed solution to the problem, possibly including a plan of attack and a strategy for carrying out that plan
Motivational frame
provides a rationale for engaging in a collective action and involves the development of an appropriate vocabulary to mobilize individuals
Frame articulation
involves the connection and alignment of events and experiences so that they fit together in a relatively unified and compelling way
Frame amplification refers to the idealization, embellishment, clarification, or invigoration of existing values or beliefs
what gives the resultant collective action frame its novelty is not so much the originality of its ideational elements but rather the manner in which these elements are spliced together and articulated, such that a new angle of vision, vantage point, or interpretation
