(Re)Writing History: How Germany and France Create and Project EU Narratives Abroad

‘Narrative’ has become such a pervasive term in media and political jargon that its theoretical backbone has become harder to trace. With this in mind, this thesis seeks to contribute to the theoretical understanding of narratives in international relations research, with a focus on the European Union. This thesis begins with a discussion on narratives in the international system, what kinds of power they exert, and how they provide structure. This will lead into the conceptual debate of narratives as tools vs narratives as identity, which will in turn raise questions about how actors use narratives to maintain ontological security. Within the context of the EU, these questions are of particular relevance, as the struggle to create a narrative for the EU is well documented. Moreover, there remains a struggle to convince member states of the importance of an EU narrative identity. This thesis will examine the area of common foreign and security policy (CFSP) through the lens of narrative analysis. The case study of the formation and projection of the EU narrative on the Iran Nuclear Deal has been selected to determine whether or not member states in the EU are faithful to EU foreign policy narratives. An analytical framework has been developed based on strategic narrative theory and will be used to test narrative output from the EU, Germany, and France on the subject of the Iran Nuclear Deal. The results of this analysis will be considered using a reflexive approach. The goal of this research is not to implicate EU member states or to imply a lack of commitment to EU CFSP. Rather, this thesis seeks to demonstrate how deep-seated narratives affect even the closest of alliances. This thesis also seeks to encourage policy makers and scholars to consider the importance of narrative integration in EU research