Seizing the narrative

Until the opposition in Syria can coalesce around a common goal, they will struggle to complete their own revolution.

The 2014 Winter Olympics are over and the American punditry is out in full force. The chattering class is trying to ‘explain’ why the US has come second in the overall medal haul and achieved ‘only’ the fourth position in the gold medal standings. No matter that America’s Olympians beat out more than 85 other nations in feats of athletic excellence; many of the US’ most-hyped stars crashed (sometimes literally) under the pressure of Olympic competition. Upon doing so, some of their carefully crafted narratives rapidly crumbled beneath the harsh klieg lights of the media.

The quadrennial spectacle of the Olympics powerfully demonstrates the impact of a commanding narrative, especially for athletes from the host nation. If your sympathetic backstory can rally your countrymen behind you — so the thinking goes — then maybe the cheers from the hometown crowd will help sway the judges in your favour.

Narratives are vitally important in the world of international affairs, as well. Nowhere is this more immediately obvious than in the rapidly evolving events in Ukraine. As the world tries to determine the whereabouts of Viktor Yanukovych, one element shines through in the media coverage of the EuroMaidan uprising: the use of the word ‘barricades’.

A ‘barricade’, of course, is just a noun describing an improvised barrier that was erected to block the advance of opposing forces. However, to many people with even a passing interest in pop culture, ‘barricades’ are inextricably linked to the entertainment juggernaut Les Misérables. The Victor Hugo novel, Broadway show, and now Oscar-winning film, all detail the plight of plucky resistance fighters in the 1800s in their battle against an unjust French elite. The story’s climax comes as hopelessly outgunned revolutionaries bravely ‘man the barricades’ in the face of an onslaught by government troops.

Whether conscious or not, the media’s fairly consistent use of the word ‘barricade’ in describing the actions of Ukrainian protesters did support a certain narrative, that of the ‘people’ rising against an inequitable and out-of-touch ruling class. This certainly seems to have been played out by subsequent events, but if a different term had been reflexively settled upon, would the story have been different? Saying that protesters were taking refuge behind a “series of temporary obstructions built from scavenged materials” just doesn’t have the same ring, does it?

However, this phenomenon works in reverse as well, as the fragmented rebel forces in Syria are discovering to their detriment. The overall narrative of Syria’s resistance appears to be that they are disorganised and riddled with extremist elements. This may be an entirely accurate portrayal of the situation on the ground, but there is a fairly substantial body of evidence, which suggests that these circumstances were entirely engineered by Bashar alAssad himself. Early on in the conflict, he released hundreds of extremists in an ‘amnesty deal’ and these experienced fighters came to dominate the rebel ranks, although their objectives were not at all in alignment with those who began the uprising. It’s all the same to Assad — as long as the resistance is fighting each other, they are unable to effectively fight him. Until the opposition in Syria can coalesce around a common goal and take control of their narrative, they will struggle to attract the attention they need to complete their own revolution.

Weary policymakers are no doubt casting a critical eye at ongoing protests in Thailand and Venezuela. Should protesters in either country want external support for their endeavours, they would be well advised to settle quickly on their preferred narrative. Or at least build some barricades.

Published in The Express Tribune, February 27^th, 2014.

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