Defining Political Reality for Europe. Political Discourse Analysis as a Method in International Relations Research

Abstract

The aim of the research is to identify and distinguish between methods of political discourse analysis, in order to better understand how international relations, perhaps most clearly in their security dimension, should be understood, conceptualized, researched and taught because this area of research is highly discoursive, making also EU law, politics and economic research highly discoursive even if we say that the contemporary World is oriented rather toward cooperation than political contradiction. This research bases on observation of international processes mostly with the help of theoretical sources. Distinguished are: 1) Political discourses; 2) Discourses as Viewed in the Context of Theories of International Relations; 3) Policy analysis; 4) Discourse Analyses; 5) Key Approaches to Discourse Analysis by Glynos, Howarth, Norval, and Speed. The main assertion is that in the hegemonic World international relations are also determined by hegemonies, and consequently one of the main research methods in international relations is political discourse analysis – as reflecting the political nature of the World community.