Strategic Narrative, Ontological Security And Foreign Policy Evolution: A Narrative Study Of The Belt And Road Initiative In The United States (2013-2021)

The evolution of foreign policy is the result of the interaction of different policy elements and the international environment.In the context of different international situations,the relationship between actors undergoes dynamic changes,so foreign policy propositions and behaviors need to be adjusted accordingly.This research focuses on foreign policy,aiming at exploring the factors influencing the policy-making process,and the relevant working mechanism.Existing studies explain foreign policy evolution from different perspectives like balance of power in the international system,domestic politics,and the policy-makers' cognition,but these explanations all turn out to be insufficient.Besides,the existing studies are mostly static foreign policy analysis and empirical research,not paying enough attention to the dynamics and processes of policy evolution,and the theoretical exploration is also relatively limited.In view of this,this article builds a theoretical framework,the core of which lies in the strategic narrative's construction of actors' ontological(in)security.Then theoretical hypotheses are proposed on the basis of this,and the US policy regarding the Belt and Road Initiative(BRI)during the Obama,Trump and Biden administrations is studied.This article believes that the policy-making process is a narrative practice process.By strategically generating and projecting strategic narratives,policy-makers construct the ontological(in)security of actors and shape the legitimacy of foreign policy.Moreover,as time passes by and the situation changes,policy-makers reconstruct the strategic narrative for political purposes,reshape the ontological(in)security of the actors,leading to the evolution of foreign policy.When the strategic narrative and the actor's ontology(in)security that it constructs remains unchanged,the foreign policy continues.When a change in the strategic narrative leads to a change in the ontology(in)security of the actor,the foreign policy changes.To have a better understanding of the policy-making process,this article draws on the theory of literature and narrative theory,and divides strategic narrative strategies into three dimensions: setting,characterization and emplotment.The above three dimensions are related to each other and work together.When the narrative situation is stable,the actors play positive roles,and the plot is inclusive,the ontological security of the actor can be constructed and consolidated,and the foreign policy tends to be positive.When the narrative situation is uncertain,actors play negative roles and the plot is antagonistic,the actor's ontology security faces challenges,and the foreign policy tends to be negative and conservative.This research selects the strategic narrative projected by the Obama,Trump and Biden administrations in the US since China proposed the BRI in 2013 to test the theoretical hypothesis.During the three administrations mentioned above,the U.S.policy regarding the BRI has changed significantly.Based on the theoretical framework,this article analyzes the American BRI strategic narrative from three dimensions,focusing on how the United States' strategic narrative constructs its own(in)security,so as to provide legitimacy to policy evolution.This research has theoretical and practical significance.On the theoretical level,this article breaks through the traditional materialist research paradigm by studying the role of strategic narrative in the evolution of foreign policy based on the theory of narratology,enriches the theoretical perspective and research agenda of foreign policy analysis,and contributes to a more comprehensive study of the dynamic evolution of foreign policy.At the practical level,the research helps to understand the logic of the US strategic narrative and its shaping of foreign policy,so that we can have a better understanding of the US foreign policy in the development of Sino-US relations;it will help us attach importance to the interpretation and application of strategic narratives in foreign affairs;it also helps to improve the theory and practice of China's foreign policy.