The International Community as a Political Myth

Discussing ideas via the concept of myth has a long pedigree (cf. Bliesemann de Guevara, Chap. 2). It is relatively unproblematic for Western academia to think of ideologies as myths, especially if these are ideologies of the Soviet or another non-Western ‘other’.

John H. Kautsky interpreted communism as a myth that, since it was believed in, could condition behaviour. Guided and inspired by such a myth, individuals would behave differently in comparison with their behaviour in the absence of the myth. Hence a myth, argued Kautsky, should be treated as in possession of real behavioural consequences (Kautsky 1968: 121-123). Since Kautsky’s writings, political theory has advanced the interpretation of political myth. it has been argued that myths, rather than dismissed as false, should be treated as components of modern political life. Their power has been exposed many times, the most outstanding examples including, but not limited to, two European totalitarianisms (Bottici 2007: 151).

In linking the insights on political myths with practices of statebuilding and the discourse of international community, which accompanies and structures them, it is crucial to explain what turns a narrative of international community into a political myth. Since a political myth depends neither on a narrative’s specific content nor exclusively on its claim to truth, the key characteristics are that it produces significance for a given group and addresses political conditions in which this group finds itself. It is not just the production of the myth but also its reception and reproduction that constitute the ‘work on’ a political myth. All social activities and practices, not solely discourse, can become the vehicle for the work on myth (Bottici and Challand 2006: 320-26). In that sense, statebuilding is a combination of various practices reinforcing the myth of international community.

Conversely, the practice of statebuilding is informed and reinforced by the myth of international community. The international community, as a political myth, normalises a particular state model as the only conceivable option and international statebuilding as a natural and desirable political practice leading to the preservation of the international community (cf. Goetze, Chap. 7).

Another important element transforming a narrative into a political myth is what Bottici refers to as ‘aesthetic translation’. Myths operate with icons, subtle associations of images and symbols that only allude to the given narrative (Bottici and Challand 2006: 325). The international community finds its expression in discursive elements other than official documents. The political development and statebuilding agenda is accompanied by symbols such as the UN dove, the USAID helping hands, or the Polish aid smiling face, to give just a few examples of the logos of various aid agencies. These graphic emblems help visualise the agenda. Through them the international community is made intelligible in a specific way, for these symbols are designed to create positive associations. Symbolic representations of the international community contribute to its reification, thereby perpetuating the work on myth.

The most paradoxical aspect, and one that the mythographical approach allows illuminating, is that aid activities are not necessarily focussed exclusively on states such as Kyrgyzstan. Statebuilding policies and the accompanying discourse of international community allow for maintaining actors’ identity and/or perception of themselves as cooperating, caring, and responsible. The political myth of the international community gives purpose, becoming the tangible goal and the result of cooperation. The enlightened project of helping those in need keeps actors engaged. Thus statebuilding turns into an exercise in bonding between highly developed states as much as it is an activity of helping other states.

The raison d'etre, of the agential international community is predicated upon its image of a purposive entity, acting for the benefit of the imagined universal international community. This group of actors sees and presents its deeds as acting in a necessarily ameliorative manner. Helping, building, and developing are all elements of identity enabled and reinforced by the myth of the international community. Despite arguments that the work of a political myth under contemporary conditions is potentially global (Bottici 2007: 202), the international community functions as a myth predominantly among a particular set of actors, i.e. those implementing international statebuilding policies. For them, statebuilding becomes an exercise in bonding between the more developed states, just as much as it is a policy towards ‘fragile’ states.

Among broader audiences, particularly among governments and societies of states that subscribe to liberal values, lean towards cosmopolitan ideals, and tend to share a self-image of being guided by the humanitarian feeling of responsibility, the actual existence of the international community may have become a lens through which the contemporary world is experienced. To this audience, the myth of the international community not only conveys the message of what is right but also answers and fulfils popular expectations of what is right and reserves responsibility to act for the agential international community. The political myth of the international community is reassuring and gives a promise of making intelligible what is currently different and odd. It allows for addressing the perennial call that ‘something must be done’ in the face of suffering on a large scale and caters to the imperative of ‘saving strangers’ (Wheeler 2000). It also perpetuates the feeling of righteousness among those who do the helping.

Fused with ideas of progress and benevolence, the myth of the international community feeds on the rhetoric of responsibilities and obligations towards the reified international community members.

Purpose is very important for the myth of the international community. To sustain the notion of a community, there is a need for a common and conscious purpose, which, in this case, is assistance in the achievement of development and/or progress. Having a purpose is good and uplifting. Purposiveness is the defining feature of the agential international community, since without an objective the myth risks losing its appeal. The objective of development, which can be pursued by the agential international community, is, naturally, a fleeting target and thus, ultimately, illusory. This, however, is an asset rather than a disadvantage. The fact that this goal is simultaneously never-ending and unattainable is perversely appealing. The purpose-driven culture motivated by the relentless desire for progress is reassured by the prospect of an everlasting goal (cf. Müller and Sondermann, Chap. 13).

This community is valued as good and as undertaking good deeds. The myth relies on and reinforces classifications, such as that there are two types of states—those developed and those developing—and that certain states have obligations towards others; they also have an interest with regard to a specifically constructed order, which is why they seek greater uniformisation to undermine possible challenges to this order.

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Source: Bliesemann de Guevara Berit. Myth and Narrative in International Politics. Palgrave Macmillan,2016. — 329 p.. 2016

The International Community as a Political Myth

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