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Article published In: Discourse analysis, policy analysis, and the borders of EU identity
Edited by Caterina Carta and Ruth Wodak
[Journal of Language and Politics 14:1] 2015
► pp. 134–153

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Telling and acting identity

The discursive construction of the EU’s common security and defence policy identity

 | University of Tartu |
Published online: 26 May 2015
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https://doi.org/10.1075/jlp.14.1.07poo
This article proposes a theoretical approach to investigate the European Union’s identity as a provider of peace operations, i.e. its Common Security and Defence Policy (CSDP) identity. Analysing the discursive construction of the EU’s CSDP identity enables to understand (i) what kind of actor the EU is in terms of conducting peace operations vis-à-vis other actors in the field; and (ii) how the EU affects and is affected by the character of the global “enterprise” of peacebuilding. The EU’s CSDP identity is seen as a process of becoming that is continuously told and acted. Taking cue from a pluralist approach to discourse analysis I explore how through the twin-processes of telling and acting identity it is possible to unravel the EU’s role identity in conducting peace operations. The purpose of this paper is to lay the theoretical groundwork for studying the EU’s CSDP identity, utilising operation Artemis as a case study.
Article outline
  • 1.Introduction
  • 2.Telling And Acting: The Tools Used To Create A “Credible” Peacebuilder’S Badge
  • 3.Methodological Modus Operandi
  • 4.The Eu’S Discourse On The Csdp: HybridityAt Its Best?
    • 4.1Discourses on peacebuilding
  • (i)before deployment
  • (ii)during deployment
  • (iii)after deployment
  • 5.Conclusion: Building Peace Vs. Building An Image
  • Notes
  • References
References (54)
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