Interview with Alma-Pierre Bonnet: Enemy Narratives

We speak to Alma-Pierre Bonnet about his Journal of Language and Politics article, Enemy narratives: How the official Brexit campaign “Vote Leave” narrated the boundaries of the British Nation. He tells us about what prompted the study and what he finds.

Photo by Reinaldo Sture on Unsplash

leading Brexiteers pragmatically devised narratives to propose a new definition of the British nation and of what it means to be British, in such a way that would suit their political ambitions

Why did you decide to write this piece?

Ever since 2016, the language the UK has used to talk its way out of the European Union, to paraphrase Steve Buckledee, has fascinated me. I never expected the outcome of the referendum to be anything else than a confirmation of the business-as-usual approach elaborated by David Cameron, in which the UK would remain a difficult partner, but a full EU member nonetheless. The result therefore came as a shock, obviously, and I think that it revealed one aspect of Britishness that had long been (voluntarily it seems) ignored, under the polish of multiculturalism and successful British integration of minorities (as opposed to the not so successful French “assimilation”). But more significant to me, as a French senior lecturer in British politics, is the way established – and respected – politicians mobilised the English language and sent it into battle, against a backdrop of national populist themes that had never really managed to take off in the country. So, when Rodrigo Cordero and Raimundo Frei issued a call for papers for a JLP Special Issue on “Narrative boundaries: The moral economy of contemporary constitutional struggles”, I thought it could be a great opportunity to explore how leading Brexiteers pragmatically devised narratives to propose a new definition of the British nation and of what it means to be British, in such a way that would suit their political ambitions. A critical approach was therefore necessary, and this is what I endeavour to achieve in this article.  

What are the key takeaways?

I think that the main takeaways of my article are theoretical in nature: it is both the introduction of the notion of “Enemy narratives” as a type of political narrative used to attack political opponents and a systematic methodology for their study. Indeed, narratives represent important tools in political communication to convey messages and ideologies, but also to create worldviews that appeal to a majority of listeners, and might consequently convince them unknowingly, under the cover of the narrative format. This is why I draw on Souto-Manning’s critical narrative approach (CNA) and on the works of Bernhard Forchtner who edited an issue of Critical Discourse Studies on narratives in critical discourse studies. Thus, in line with the general theme of the special issue in which my paper is integrated, I demonstrate how enemy narratives proved useful to the overall communication of the official campaign to leave the EU, Vote Leave, as they were instrumental in providing the discursive boundaries of a conception of the British nation that relied on nativism, which, I argue, contributed to the growing polarisation of the post-Brexit society and the emergence – or rather the consolidation – of a British version of the culture wars.

Where do you plan to go next in your research?

I believe that narratives represent a fascinating political lever to convince large audiences, sometimes against their best interest, which calls for a critical approach. My research interests therefore intersect at the junction of narrative analysis, critical discourse studies and political communication in general. The main advantage of the methodology I develop in this article is its accessibility and the fact that it can be quite easily applied to other cases of political communication. This is why I intend to continue down this narrative path in political discourse. I will also try to expand my multidisciplinary approach and work with colleagues who might be interested in deciphering the political use of narratives and how they influence audiences and contribute to the construction of powerful personal images for politicians. I am currently in the process of co-editing a book on the culture wars in the UK (Routledge) and I have several projects concerning the organisation of international conferences on political narratives (May 2025) and politics and emotions (October 2025), at my home university in Lyon, France. I also want to continue studying how current British leaders, such as Keir Starmer, justify their political ambition and build their ethos through narratives.