Citation

Kuusisto R. Eur. J. Int. Rel. 2009; 15(4): 601-626.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2009, European Consortium for Political Research, Publisher SAGE Publishing)

DOI

10.1177/1354066109345052

PMID

unavailable

Abstract

Recently, the ‘war stories’ of the leaders of the major Western powers — the United States, Britain and France — have adhered to two major plots: the heroic epic or the sad tragedy. The heroic script defines and explains conflicts in which the Western powers have wished to play an active role: the Persian Gulf (1990—1), Kosovo (1999) and the current war against terrorism. The tragic plot has been employed when they have ruled out forceful outside intervention, like in Bosnia (1992—5) and Rwanda (1994). Both scripts are highly problematic conflict resolution approaches: they point to black-and-white, aggressive denouements. An alternative is the comic plot: a story traditionally used in ordinary disagreements among friends, problems with ‘small foes’ and disputes with important rivals. Adopting a comic framework for most of the conflicts in the world would give the Western leaders more room to negotiate, to try out new ideas and to back down on unsuccessful strategies.