This article introduces the concept of political myth to foreign policy analysis. It explains how myth can influence the construction of foreign policy events and decisions and creates a new lens that analysts can use to study this. To do that, this article draws upon conceptual literature on political myth to explain what myth is and how it shapes discursive constructions of the world. Adopting an interpretivist approach, it then uses the concept as a lens to analyze the impact that the Blair Poodle myth has had on the construction of the US–UK “special relationship” from 2002 to 2022 and considers how this has influenced the diplomatic behavior of five UK prime ministers. It finds that the myth has been integral to negative constructions of the “special relationship” over the past twenty years and has inspired political action, including protests, resignations, and more formal diplomatic engagement with the United States.

中文翻译：

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将神话引入外交政策分析：布莱尔贵宾犬神话及其对“特殊关系”构建的影响

本文将政治神话的概念引入外交政策分析。它解释了神话如何影响外交政策事件和决策的构建，并创造了分析师可以用来研究这一问题的新视角。为此，本文利用有关政治神话的概念文献来解释神话是什么以及它如何塑造世界的话语结构。采用解释主义的方法，以这一概念为视角，分析布莱尔贵宾犬神话对2002年至2022年美英“特殊关系”构建的影响，并思考这如何影响了英国的外交行为。英国有五位首相。研究发现，这个神话在过去二十年中一直是对“特殊关系”的消极建构的一部分，并激发了政治行动，