Following the “emotional turn” in International Relations, emotions since the 2000shave increasingly been regarded as a significant feature of international life. Thus collective memories (particularly traumatic memories together with emotions)and the narratives constit More
Following the “emotional turn” in International Relations, emotions since the 2000shave increasingly been regarded as a significant feature of international life. Thus collective memories (particularly traumatic memories together with emotions)and the narratives constituting collective memory have become prominent issues in the contemporary study of international relations and foreign policy. The historical experience of trauma can in particular shape narratives and emotions hence influencing identity and agency; and hereby impacting foreign policy through legitimization and de-legitimization of specific foreign policy actions. What is less discussed in the literature is the conditions and the degree of their overall impact. This article seeks to develop a framework for the study of the ways in which significant traumatic narratives affect emotions, and hence it will seek to identity its related agenciesand actions within the context of foreign policy. On the basis of a few traumatic narratives in the history of Iranthis article subsequently develops a number of hypotheses about the impacts of traumatic narratives on foreign policy as a basis for empirical studies and research.
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