The Hoax of War: The Foreign Policy Discourses of Poland and Bulgaria on Iraq, 2003–2005

Abstract

An analysis of Poland's and Bulgaria's foreign policy articulations on Iraq provides a discursive platform not only for the manifestation of national self-positioning in the international arena, but also for the expression of national fears and the re-contextualization of historical narratives. The claim is that the Iraq war became a 'hoax' for public expressions of the 'essence of the nation'. Despite the different conditions and historical experience, in both Poland and Bulgaria the foreign policy discourses on Iraq conjured up a fictitious construct of the nation, which, while playing on the (apathetic) credulity of the public, facilitated the radicalization of the political discourse in both countries by undermining the assertion of diversity as a precondition of politics and instead has invoked the imagination of ethnic and moral unity. The conclusion, therefore, is that the foreign policy discourses on Iraq attest to the possibility of the erosion of politics in the postcommunist countries.

Regional and International Relations of Central Europe

“…As mentioned earlier, Poland achieved a position of 'supply-driven leadership' while sending out 2,600 troops (including 1,500 combat troops) to Iraq. The country's substantial involvement provided the opportunity for the United States to delegate to Poland the command of a multinational division responsible for one of the four Iraqi districts (the Central South district) (Kavalski and Zolkos 2007). The other three countries of the region supported the mission but with some hesitation.…”

The end of China’s romance with Central and Eastern Europe

“…The main task of domestication is to demonstrate that rather than diminishing the national characteristics of news media, the globalization of media has in fact deepened such idiosyncrasies by relating 'foreign' and 'faraway' stories in ways that make them more familiar, comprehensible and compatible for consumption by different national audiences (Gurevitch et al, 1991, pp. 206-207;Kavalski, 2010b;Zolkos & Kavalski, 2007). In this setting, domestication draws attention to the role played by journalists as significant gatekeepers in the translation of an external event to a national audience.…”