How do stories create political power? Why do narratives matter in shaping legitimacy, justice, and belonging? In this Research Seminar, Dr Fatemeh Sadeghi (University College London – Institute for Global Prosperity) examines the powerful role of narratives and storytelling in legitimising political authority. Drawing on examples from Islamism, nationalism, and contemporary far-right populism, she shows how political stories do not merely reflect power but actively produce it.

The seminar explores how movements mobilise ideas of moral renewal, nostalgia, and collective identity to justify authority, and how these same narratives can both inspire emancipation and reproduce exclusion or authoritarianism. Dr Sadeghi also situates these dynamics within an “age of crisis,” marked by inequality, political disillusionment, and declining trust in institutions, where emotional resonance increasingly replaces ideology as the basis of legitimacy.

Read more, or watch the full seminar:https://ami.is/sadeghi-seminar

Audio Chapters:

0:10 - Introduction

01:29 - What is Narrative?

04:02 - Types of Narrative in Islamic Culture

08:46 - Storytellers & Storytelling

15:10 - Significance of Narratives in Politics

17:45 - Examples of Political Narratives

31:49 - The Age of Crisis and the Future of Politics

Hour 2: Zohran Mamdani stands with Starbucks workers.