Keyword – political narratives

Orsolya, Szabó Palócz:

The Dramaturgy of Political Enemy Narratives in the Age of Generative Artificial Intelligence

In contemporary politics, enemy construction is not merely a rhetorical tool – it is a creative and immersive narrative process blending imitation, symbolic role-play and collective meaning-making. Consequently, political enemy-making resembles a structured performance: it distributes roles, establishes conflict- driven storylines and engages participants in emotionally charged scenarios with high symbolic stakes. Generative AI increasingly shapes these processes by automating narrative production, mimicking persuasive forms and dramatising threats. Drawing on discourse theory and political communication, the paper suggests that enemy construction is a form of political dramaturgy, fusing imagination, imitation and affect to produce cohesive group identities and moral worldviews. In this framework, AI is not just a tool but a co-actor, capable of replicating, accelerating and innovating the narrative mechanics of political enmity. By reinterpreting enemy narratives as structured yet improvisational political creativity, this paper contributes to broader discussions on how dramaturgy, imagination and AI shape social realities.

Keywords: political narratives, enemy construction, artificial intelligence, serious play, identity politics