Narrativism: A Framework for Legalized Aggression and Lawfare

Abstract

This research introduces Narrativism, a theoretical paradigm that reconceptualizes international relations as structured by strategic narratives through which institutions, states, and global actors construct legitimacy. Central to this paradigm is Legalized Aggression Narratives (LAN), a diagnostic sub-theory that identifies six mechanisms—legal legitimation, sovereignty framing, historical justification, security and protection rhetoric, institutional deflection, and rights suppression—used to normalize coercive behavior as lawful governance. LAN reveals how legal frameworks are repurposed to justify institutional aggression and sustain asymmetrical power. It functions as both a conceptual lens and an accountability tool, enabling scholars to decode how legality is weaponized to obscure violence and manufacture legitimacy. Case studies from Ukraine, Gaza, and the Yugoslav Wars demonstrate LAN’s application across geopolitical contexts, showing how institutions—from the United Nations to national governments—perform legitimacy. By synthesizing realism, constructivism, and institutionalism, the paper argues that lawfare constitutes a narrative architecture within global governance, challenging law’s neutrality and exposing its strategic function in power reproduction.