American strategic knowledge networks and the global order: narratives and competition

Introduction This study examines how American Strategic Knowledge Networks (SKNs), including think tanks, policy institutes, and elite advisory bodies, transform strategic knowledge into instruments of geopolitical legitimacy within the contemporary global order. The research focuses on the role of strategic narratives in the Ukraine war and the U.S.–China rivalry. Methods The study adopts a qualitative comparative research design grounded in Critical Discourse Analysis (CDA). The analysis is based on 104 primary documents produced between 2022 and 2023, including policy reports, congressional testimonies, expert interviews, and media commentaries from major American think tanks and policy institutions such as Brookings, RAND, CSIS, Carnegie, and the Atlantic Council. Results The findings identify three principal mechanisms through which SKNs shape and circulate geopolitical legitimacy: media legitimation, legislative translation, and transatlantic coordination. The analysis demonstrates that SKNs employ moral framing to construct legitimacy during crises, while institutional coordination and policy translation reinforce strategic narratives across legislative and transatlantic governance arenas. The findings also show that SKNs adapt their discursive strategies according to geopolitical context, particularly in crisis-driven and long-term strategic competition environments. Discussion The study concludes that SKNs function as epistemic infrastructures that convert expertise into geopolitical influence and institutional legitimacy. However, their authority remains dependent on credibility, institutional coordination, and alignment with changing global power structures. The study contributes a multidimensional theoretical framework integrating realism, constructivism, liberal institutionalism, and critical theory to explain how strategic knowledge supports contemporary forms of global hegemony.