Narrating Unity, Defending Order: Western Narratives After February 24, 2022

Russia's invasion of Ukraine in February 2022 intensified debates over the future of the international order. Previous research has examined media coverage and Russian narrative justifications, but little is known about how Western political leaders initially constructed their own strategic narratives in response. Applying the strategic narratives framework, this article investigates how leaders in seven Western states and the EU framed the invasion and its implications for the liberal international order during the first month of the war. At the system level, leaders relied on general invocations of the rules-based international order. At the identity level, their calls to defend “their order” reaffirmed a Western community of democratic values and personalised blame. At the issue level, policy responses were validated through appeals to unity and solidarity. By repeatedly asserting unity, Western political leaders aimed to reassure audiences of the West's coherence. The invasion consolidated the West as a political actor, but at the cost of limiting its legitimacy. By tying Ukraine's defence to Western identity, leaders struggled to extend the persuasiveness of their narratives towards a broader audience. The article demonstrates how narratives functioned as mechanisms for maintaining order: safeguarding the West's identity and sustaining established international structures.