Endogenous Narratives: Ancient Ideas and Modern Vocabularies

Abstract This article develops the notion of endogenous narratives to highlight how indigenous epistemic structures shape a state’s political functioning and national identity. Sitting at the intersection of literature around standpoint epistemology and conceptual histories, which are critical frames for understanding ways of thinking, we employ discursive analysis to examine the agency and identity of the Bhutanese state, which sits at the liminal intersection of culture, politics, religion, and strategy. The article draws upon arguments on conceptual history, notion of thoughtways and concepts and idea of situated imagination. We argue that engaging with endogenous narratives through conceptual history and situated imagination can inform research on non-Western perspectives. This approach encourages critical examination of concepts as temporal categories, enriching our understanding of non-Western states and international relations.