This book presents an analysis of how metaphors are essential elements in the study of international relations. It acknowledges the fact that theory and practice in international relations often rest on common metaphorical concepts which have implications for the ways people around the world pursue their lives. Because of the increased attention metaphors have received as integral elements in political discourse, there is a need to investigate metaphorical concepts that are not neutral in their implications for understanding international relations. Inasmuch as government policy is shaped by metaphorical concepts that originate in the academic realm, and given that scholarly works are therefore partially involved in inspiring policy, the author subjects a range of metaphors in international relations theory to critical interrogation.

Metaphors constitute a fundamental way in which humans understand the world around them. This book offers a comprehensive analysis of metaphors in theories of international relations. Until recently, conscious attention to metaphors in theories of international relations has been haphazard and sporadic. This book examines the metaphors that inform the major paradigms in international relations theory. Readers will discover that the vast majority of the terminology cataloguing, defining, and naming theories, concepts, and analytical tools pertaining to the study of international relations are metaphorical in nature. The book concludes that metaphors are an essential element in all aspects of international relations theory.

The contributions in this volume go beyond the Contemporary Theory of Metaphor complementing it in a number of relevant ways. Some of the papers argue for a more dynamic, interdisciplinary approach to metaphor looking into it from semiotic, psychological and socio-cultural perspectives. Other contributions focus on the crucial role played by metaphor and metonymy in meaning construction at a discourse/textual level. Finally, the volume also includes proposals which revolve around the alleged universal nature of metaphorical mappings and their suitability to account for grammatical phenomena. The contributions in this volume display an ample gamut of theoretical approaches pointing to the viability of taking a functional-cognitive stance on the analysis of metaphor and metonymy in contrast to a purely cognitive one. This book is structured into three major sections: i) the Contemporary Theory of Metaphor: revisions and recent developments; ii) metaphor and/or metonymy across different discourse/genre types; and iii) the Contemporary Theory of Metaphor: current applications. Originally published in Review of Cognitive Linguistics 9:1 (2011).

This edited volume examines how metaphors and related phenomena (metonymies, symbols, cultural models, stereotypes) lead to the discursive construal of a common element that brings the nation together. The central idea is that metaphor use must be questioned to lay bare the processes and the discursive power behind them. The chapters examine a range of contemporary and historical, monomodal and multimodal discourses, including politicians’ discourse, presidential speeches, newspapers, TV series, Catholic homilies, colonialist discourse, and various online sources. The approaches taken include political science, international relations, cultural studies, and linguistics. All contributions feature discursive constructivist views of metaphor, with clear sociocultural grounding, and the notion of metaphor as a framing device in constructing various aspects of nations and national identity. The volume will appeal to scholars in discourse analysis, metaphor studies, media studies, nationalism studies, and political science.

This book merges macro- and micro-level analysis of the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) to dissect China’s aim in creating an integrated Eurasian continent through this single mega-project. BRI has been the source of much interest and confusion, as established frameworks of analysis seek to understand China’s intentions behind the policy. China’s international activity in the early 21st century has not yet been successfully theorised by IR scholars because of a failure to satisfactorily encompass its complexity. In addition, the mix-and-match syncretism of the Chinese approach to foreign policy has been under-emphasised or omitted in many analyses. Bringing together complexity thinking and analytic eclecticism to assess the degree to which this scheme can transform international relations, Garlick critically examines this large-scale interconnectivity project and its potential impacts. The book will be of interest to scholars and practitioners in the field of international relations and China studies including academics, policy-makers and diplomats around the world.

This book examines how, within foreign policy, perceptions are a reflection of an actor’s conception of status, credibility and legitimacy, within the context of EU–Ukraine relations and the Ukraine crisis.

This book presents the results of a large-scale experiment into interpretations of the metaphor “the Nation as a Body” among 1,800+ respondents from 30 linguistic and cultural backgrounds. In this first account of an empirical study of cross-cultural global metaphor interpretation of that scale, Musolff confirms that the meanings of metaphors are complex, culturally mediated and may differ for senders and recipients. The book provides a historical and cultural map of the traditions underlying differences in how the nation as a body – or, “the body politic” – is understood. Musolff challenges the hypotheses of the universality of “the nation” as a predominantly male-gendered and hierarchically organized concept and, in so doing, puts into question some of the key presuppositions of traditional historical and cognitive approaches to metaphor. For scholars and students of figurative language, the book lays out methodological foundations for cross-cultural metaphor comparison and reveals hidden meaning differences in political metaphor in English as lingua franca.