From Ideology to Narrative : How Xi Jinping Thought Shapes China’s Strategic Storytelling

Sammanfattning

In China, ideology has re-emerged as a central organising force with Xi Jinping Thought, alongside an expanded use of strategic narratives in both domestic and international contexts. Previous research has tended to treat ideology and strategic narratives as either interchangeable or analytically separate, making it difficult to explain how ideological meaning is translated into political practice or how narratives acquire political force. This thesis argues that previous approaches struggle to explain legitimacy under Xi, because they insufficiently conceptualise the relationship between ideology, narratives, and political performance. To address this gap, the conceptual framework of Strategic Storytelling is developed, integrating insights from the morphological approach to ideology analysis and narrative scholarship, where ideology and strategic narratives are treated as components of a single process of political meaning-making. The framework conceptualises ideology as a deep structure of political meaning, master narratives as culturally embedded storylines, strategic narratives as purposive communicative storylines, and storytelling as the performative enactment. The framework is then applied to three strategic narratives under Xi Jinping: Chinese reunification, China as a responsible major power, and cyber sovereignty. Through narrative analysis of official speeches, policy documents, and political practices, the thesis shows that political legitimacy emerges through the alignment of ideology, narratives and storytelling. The thesis contributes to debates on ideology and narratives, offering a framework that may be applicable beyond the Chinese case.