Competing Metaphors for International Relations

Jungle or Playground?

Riikka Kuusisto

$305

Hardback

Forthcoming
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English

Routledge
28 May 2025

Peace studies & conflict resolution; Political science & theory; International relations; Political campaigning & advertising

Series: New International Relations

This book examines how thinking towards the international relations of political leaders, researchers, the media and the public is fundamentally metaphorical in nature: the abstract and far away constantly made concrete and familiar through the imaginative rationality of metaphors. It delves into ten competing structural metaphors: international relations as natural selection, as family dynamics, as balancing operations, as building and constructing, as games and play, as business and trade, as journeys and paths, as musical performances, as health or sickness and as puzzles and riddles. Drawing attention to the important role of metaphors in grasping this field and providing explanations for its events and motives for its actors, this study will appeal to scholars and students of International Relations and World Politics. For experts on metaphor theory or cognitive linguistics, this book will offer practical examples and speculate on concrete consequences of adopting different metaphorical schemes.

By: Riikka Kuusisto
Imprint: Routledge
Country of Publication: United Kingdom
Dimensions: Height: 234mm, Width: 156mm,
Weight: 453g
ISBN: 9781032987989
ISBN 10: 1032987987
Series: New International Relations
Pages: 174
Publication Date: 28 May 2025
Audience: College/higher education , Primary
Format: Hardback
Publisher's Status: Forthcoming

Preface and acknowledgements Introduction Part One: Imaginative Rationality Conceptual metaphor theory Ontological foundation: states-as-persons Ten structural metaphors for international relations Part Two: International Relations Metaphors in Action International nature: violent jungles and evolutionary progress International families: loving parents and bitter feuds International balancing: mechanical weighing and mental stability International building: sturdy fortresses and open houses International games: prisoners’ dilemmas and buzzing playgrounds International business: bidding contests and fair trade International illnesses: fatal sicknesses and curable diseases International journeys: dead end tracks and common paths International music: graceful waltzes and battle marches International puzzles: senseless riddles and solvable enigmas Conclusion References Index

Riikka Kuusisto is Senior Lecturer in World Politics at the University of Helsinki, Finland. She has published on themes including IR theory narratives, foreign policy rhetoric and conflict metaphors in journals such as International Politics, Journal of Peace Research, European Journal of international Relations and Quarterly Journal of Speech. Her latest book International Relations Narratives: Plotting World Politics was published by Routledge in 2020.