The Shaping of Threat Through Narration

Abstract

Threat is a problematic term since it is both objective and subjective in nature. It is in one sense objective, especially in a national security perspective of capability to inflict harm, but it is also highly subjective in how it is discussed and perceived. More often than not, the very interpretation of the threat, influenced by threat narratives, dictates the reality of the threat. Through the iterative process of narration and the inherent subjectivity that narration introduces, a threat perception generally evolves in a direction away from objectivity. The nature of threat narration is based on a two-part process of story-telling by influencers and interpretation by an audience. Simply put, threat comes to life and is molded into a comprehensible construct through threat narratives. This animation of the threat is precisely where it is both simplified into digestible pieces while at the same time careening away from an objective threat truth. Reconciling the impact of threat perception and its detriment to threat truth is the focus of this article.