Plotting stories after war: Toward a methodology for negotiating identity

Abstract

Identity is an important factor in international conflicts. As it is a crucial part of the problem, some scholars argue, national identity should be an important part of the solution. Parties to the conflict, they recommend, should negotiate their national identities so as to reach a “narrative equilibrium” that will allow them to overcome national stereotypes, build trust, and sustain peaceful relations in the future. This article evaluates not the merits of these negotiations, but the tools that social scientists have employed to analyze them. Its main purpose, therefore, is methodological. It argues that attempts to theorize the negotiation of identity fall short of their goal because they focus heavily on the notion of negotiation and very little on the concept of identity. To remedy this shortcoming, the article turns to the structural theories of narrative to conceptualize the negotiation of identity as a negotiation of literary plots. It argues that the negotiation of identity is the attempt to move away from two mutually exclusive romantic plots, and toward tragic, comic, or satiric plots in counterpoint. The introduction of plots, the article concludes, provides important insights that help theorize the negotiation of identity in post-conflict scenarios.