Introduction

A general problem in foreign policy analysis is how to deal theoretically with general beliefs to which actors adhere. This is not only a problem in relation to what has often been labelled political ideology but also in relation to beliefs about concepts such as Europe, the state, the nature of international relations, security etc. The traditional foreign policy analysis literature tends to present these kinds of beliefs in an individualist and positivist way without taking into account the impact of language and the societal foundation of the beliefs (see chapter 1). This forms the first set of the problems treated in the book. The book proposes a theoretical framework, based on linguistics and the concept of political discourse, which takes these problems into account.