Political Myths: Definition and Significance. In the popular vernacular, the word ‘myth’ generally indicates falseness and is often used pejoratively76 as to the opposite of scientifically established truths.77 In modern societies, the general belief is that human beings draw their everyday guidance from modern sciences and make their political choices on a rational-secular basis.78 Thus, myths are repressed “into the obscure depth of the psyche.”79 However, even with scientific rationality, these stories about the past, particularly the ones about state and nationhood as analyzed in this study, still dominate everyday life. Both politicians and ordinary people still look at them to derive meaning about various political, social, and economic transformations. Political myths could be considered components of political culture, that is “the set of attitudes, beliefs, and feelings people hold about politics in a society” as the most fundamental defitinition says.80 They inform us about the general trends in overall political change in the society, how such changes influence the society and how society relate to changes. So, since myths are basicallyreactions to certain changes and crisis in the society, an analysis of their reproduction can provide us information about changes and the relationship of the society to these changes. 76 Xxxxxx Xxxx, “Legitimizing War on Terror,” Political Psychology, Vol. 31, No. 3, (June 2010): 357-391. 77 See: Xxxxxx Xxxxxx, The Myth of The Eternal Return or, Cosmos and History (Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1991), 34-48. 78 The cognitive aspects of individuals involved in foreign policy making is problematized by Political Psychology Literature. Interestingly, earlier contributions were from the late Cold War period: Xxxxxx Xxxxxx, Perception and Misperception in International Politics (Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 1976); Xxxxxxx X. Xxxxxx, Foreign Policy Motivation: A General Theory and A Case Study, (Pittsburgh: Pittsburgh University Press, 1977); Xxxxxxxx X. Xxxxxxx (ed.), Political Psychology, (San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass, 1986). Some scholars working on the effect of discourses on international relations are Xxxxxxx X. Xxxxxx and R.B.J. Xxxxxx, “Introduction: Speaking the Language of Exile: Dissident Thought in International Studies,” International Studies Quarterly, Vol. 34, No. 3, (Sept. 1990): 259-268; Xxxxx Xxx Xxxxxx, On Diplomacy: A Genealogy of Western Estrangement (Oxford: Blackwell, 1987); Xxxxx Xxxxxxx, “Discourse and Internationa...
