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Discourses of blame in strategic narratives: The case of Russia's 5G stories

April 2022
European Security 32(2)

DOI:10.1080/09662839.2022.2057188

Authors:

Sten Hansson

University of Tartu

Mari-Liis Madisson

University of Tartu

Andreas Ventsel

University of Tartu

Governments spread strategic narratives via media to influence foreign audiences and policy makers. A frequent but understudied feature of strategic narratives is the discursive construction of blame. In this article, we use the coverage of the adoption of 5G cellular technology in Russian state-funded news portals as an example to show how to interpret blame narratives about international security issues. We combine methods and insights from the discourse-analytic studies of blame and the research into the uses of strategic narratives in international relations to reveal how various articulations of blame are used to (de)legitimise particular actors and actions, sow discord, and foster alliances. Our analysis sheds new light on blame discourses that are more sophisticated and indirect than straightforward accusations and may serve multiple strategic goals at once. It also contributes to scholarship on Russia's strategic communication about China as well as the United States and its allies.

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European Security 

!"#$%&'())#)**+),--+.,'/*++

Discourses of blame in strategic narratives:

The case of Russia’s 5G stories

0

Abstract

($"#$$"#1

"23#$$

"45$#'(

#1%56"55

"$17""#"

1"#$

$5$" #"

5815#

""#5

"1$"##4%&

#""95:

;15#$"'(%:91

1. Introduction

515#$"""$"

#1"2#1"

#$1%#"0<=#**>"07#*/>

?2*+>"*+>92""08&#*,>$@0

91*>2""8A#0B#*>B2$C"0D#C"

* #$E"15"

"#$

"F2""*/- 3

#$$"G

##1"$#"$#1#$

"$#"452$"

#$1"##1"

1"*+*+ #

$2""*.*/ 

151515"

'(#1$1%

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"$56#

%:@8#$#$125

5156815#

" "#5

 "1$"##756"5

%&"$'(#1$5

%9#"71#7

"1"6"1 1"$5%

$'(discursively#1#$#

$"5"#1

%&#"""0;#* 

5I5$2#'(

1%5"5

5511"52"#

$$"#"76"1

"%&#$'(5

""1%&##1#45#

"#""$""

"

2. Background: 5G as an international security issue

HH$##5

11$1#

$@* ""52'(#1

'($1#1*

"J('(5###

"$###$#

 $# 51

#*+ 5$1#$'(

#1#6#

12"#45"#

""#K$52&$#"

7*+ 

59""$##

$"'(3#'(2

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"##1"2#!$

59'(#12*+5:5

#""$

"19"# 4*,5

K&$"":

"4I15&"5"1:#

K9#55#11

#""3""1559

""#BD#++,@!?

@! &9" 21$'(

#"1#

9)55:561

"#

3. Data: Russian state-funded news portals

%&#$##11#

"1%2;#0O#*/ 

%"1%1 %#52"#

#""55"##45'

5%#$"#1%&

"1##

N"$*->I10%*+>?$*+>

!H(091* 7"151$5

";"?#9H!1091 "

%&#1"""1

7 ""7"1P2$*'>

8#0@*,>9109H!1>D505 

2"H5#1"21%#$"

#%7$?2*,>7#

0<?H*, 25*J#$"

%515#1%1#1

5% 2$.##$5

#"42525##"

$%%"10%5*, "61

#"%<10%2*/ 2

#71%"10%5*, 

"17*+ 

8.'(%"5-

'(25"55*L1.

6$55$#"

#1:$9'(#1

"#$""3"555##

$##:#$"8D#

##$#'(%2#46

215K'(&K5&"

6$"1"3$"

1$"%&#$

4. Framework: Strategic narratives and discursive blame games

815$5

" H$$51"

$&

17*,,>D+** #$"52##

##551

5#$"1

#1"##$"#$$#

0@*+ 

#$1#&

"2#8&#*/' 

5#$1$""52

"#1"""""* 

#$">1

65$"

"#$6$1"8&#*/.. 

"$1##$##

51"11$2""8&#0%*/

+ 5"

""1$"$$

System narratives5#5"

46%&#""

2""8&#*/ ##"1"$

$1555

#"1:"##>

$"#31"5 5

#"%>

$%##5@8D:##

#51

5975$:

"1#DN?$/ 

$1"$""#%

#175@81#5

%:52N"$07*J 

##$5(C?0*,>!$ 

"7"1""

$%K$#5#51D

(5""H1&2*+/ 

Identity narratives$#

2""8&#0%*/ 

5K&K"&%"1#

5$"#"#"$11"

7* "%$#

721$*J>"*'>P2$*+ 6

71#"D 5

#""21"1""

$52*- 

Policy narratives$"$H1"2""

*/ $#$1

H$)$5$

1"1$""1#"

I$*J:2%#"

1#@811<@""$

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@8$1"D:";$#&@""

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$$discursive construction of blameG$#

1"$#"#"$#1

#$"$#"<"#""

 1"#"""2"15#$

"2##"$#" $G

2$""2#G2""2

"#"1"1#5

""$$#$"7$*,+->**

 <"#"1"#)

5$##GK"#"&G$"#1

#$ $1"51 "

*+ 

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$#1#&H

"$##$"$G$"###

51"#"*'*/>

0N# 4$K"#

"#&"#"#5$"#

#*J N1""##$

5 "1315

6"5$1H

1$1$

2##5<"#"1

K$&5$"$$

$"L5210Q* 

72"#1"1"11"11" 

K#&K"#&K"#&5$$1

"#"&5##"#<"#1$$

##""#####$ "* 

#$"#" 1. #

1$*+ "#"$"$"

##"1#"$1argumentum ad hominem

##$ tu quoque&

11 $"$"#$" <""2"1

#"#$5+ $6H

""1#6"1

""16 "$

$1" <1####1""2"11

""2$"1"#1$

"2##$ "#$1

"#1#"K&K& #

""2&5$"

*+ <""2"1")$"#$

1#15$

$""2"1"#$5$#

1#"##$#1$#6 

"1""

#$3"2&""2



!"1#""##

"#"5##)$

"15$"4"#$

""6$2#

#$@ 55"5

"#5"2#""6#

""$1#$5"

45#15$"1#$

$"#"$16"1$

"%2$9'(

#15"#1"3$1

$5+ $$#I11

####3

51"#5"5"5R1

$515"5'5 

15"5#1

#16""

#$$#5"

#2%&#$$11

1"- 

<55"$I3$1

#$#$"6

1%152"

#$"1$$@5

"5$%

5##"$51

51""11%$

"175"#5 "

1311#'(#

1271151$#"

6"1515"1#$

5. Analysis: Discourses of blame in Russia’s strategic narratives

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4%2'(5$515"5

5* ":"9)5

1#$'(52 ##:$"#

1'(. ##:$"115

91#J :"##

# 5'($' "#:

#"55'($756"1

"

5.1 ‘US pins unfounded blame to China/Huawei for spying’

4'(%2:#$"5

""2519#$"9'(#1

"151##%2>D2"2>; 4

"71

5#$1$"I*

I1%1E95I"#

5'(F

:"?"11#

9#$"#315

9#$"$1#"

I11#1@4("N

1$:"

E5"2##1DFN

$55<"#@5E55##

"$11#DD5"1&DF%



46"31I11

#61:##1#

151$E"2##F""1

$"#$E

5"2##F""#$

#5

4%31#2#72"#1

5%1#":#

5$31":$

91#91#IN&

D1:$91#

5151

:"1$25#)#96$

D1$#'(52$51

1$D1G5E#"$11#DF1

"

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51#GH$###"$

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"11""I":

"9)51#

4#%2"$'("#

5:5###95#1

"#9>2>% ""$

"3"#:"9'(

12"#"$5

$K""$&1$:@1$#

'(%2"1$95"

6"1$2""#5#<$>9

 95#"$#1

:I6"E5"7L%9"#N

<21#7N%$94!F2*.

I11

9"#2:##K"&

#"##11"5

"#55:D""$

1525'(9

":$#"255

K2&K#E"F&5bombshell53"2

2"The Wall Street Journal7L 

##6##$

2$# 5$'(

"5:##"#

#"5

61"#$

"":"5&1

D412"""1

$:The Wall Street Journal5$

3251#

7L15:#$"&$1

$#1#

1:7L&#

5"19

4513K52&""1

51#""K5&K

9"&###The Wall Street Journal

:#$"""1$7

"1##

"2 "2"

#"15"#5#

25#1#"2

K&"1WSJ

"1#

#"#5$"#

5:""6"1#

$"4"1#1

""2"1""

5.2 ‘US deserves blame for spreading baseless rumours and conspiracy theories’

4%2$##:"

19"<$$$

1#712"#984!*,

"5'($"$

"7#;>% 1#1'(

"5#% :1#

1#1$""I6"1

EKD""##&8$9I":;G

"F"@H#@":$192

1$5E47"#$9#1"

12:;RF45N"<

L&5":;#"

721"$$$'(

$11$&1

7515$

"1"5"##5G"1

"$1$"51

$#$$29>#

"##12

2K"&151#12#

6#5"#$$5 

1:##51"1

""#3##21"#

12'(#1984!*,

:"512

:"15#2$#&$

$

5.3 ‘US deserves blame for hypocrisy’

4'(%2:#$"$#"

111#5#19 

1#1G5$$G

""12##""5I?0

*+>;# 1#:#$"$#"

11%#"1":"1651#1

911#%

4EK4"1"#R&N&

5"2"9#F%51

2:%$@1N1

95E#1#5#1

2#"1F

"55@&1#551#N51

""#:"$"161D5

555

15"2"&$""

55))

2#:9I#7#P

29#:#EFE<5

S#TH"9""1"

RF%#

4%:"#152

9'(#17"1$

"#$"$1:

##1@##

5$$1:91#$#

"N5#11#151#1

115"#91#K1&N"

5$#"#

$139#"5"

N$3

##:9"11$#

#"$

"$#5#%

#$"I"#:#$"1"

:13#"11

:"K#"1&5K#

5&"#11"##

#% $"%&

K"5&, "5$

":

5.4 ‘US blames allies for choosing Huawei as 5G vendor’

4'(%2##":"

1:;2>2>% :

$51#"

55:;D

"25K#&"2#1#

"":4$"#: 15

5: 5#"1#

I2E!"9K<1&<L&

5'($G%F1

<L5&<&'(52.'

5#"11EF3""

#2$ 

7#5$5:#

$:;52"!5#1"2"

#"2

46":#$"6###$""

"":N&K"

& 62‘"&K5&

":5#$:;#$"

"25:11#5

55

"$##5::;$5

%&1"$""5

5:"2#

5.5 ‘Allies blame the US for pressuring them to cut ties with Huawei’

%2"'(1#:

$"#"55

'(52$<1"#:"2%2

#":5"#""2"$G1

11$"5

1##$1"#:"2

""2%2$5:

$$

I6"E9IN"0D%

K9&5K:&"1"RF%5

7#1"561

5$#$#1"1D:;

155"'(52

("1N#41$$:

59"%

45%K7#&5KD&

1#"""1:"

1D#$"4:;#

#$:("1N#41""2K$

& 5:6#K&"7""2#1

$$#"$5 

""*+ "6"

$1$HG5

:"&5

1"

%2"2$2"7

53:"2I

E<52:;1#590:

$5&'(F%5

"&112<

5&'(7#&$E1F11

I5<"<))

#I55##2I$D1#

5:<9@5B

E4&$5F%H

45%"":"

#$$"""7#

"<""H$K&""1

H$16"1:"

"1"1:;5K1&#

$""#$$##

:$"#$$%&5

$#5#5:3

$1GE4&$5

FG""###"K& 

#5K& "5K&"15

5K$&"

6. Discussion: Uses of blame in policy, identity, and system

narratives

$1$$151"#$

"16"52#

$$111"75



6.1 Blame in policy narratives

$1$'(%5

$"51I1":

"9)51#$'(52G:$

$1 $#1"##

"#19"$1#"1

61"7 1

$$"":#9#

1$"":"##

1'(G5"1"65

%2$$1$1#P2$

*'>7*+>%"10%5*, 

##:$"11G:"

91##)"#6'(#11# #

"5:1#""$$$

tu quoque#"#151#"

51"#"21###11

""2$351

91#$'(#1$#"":#$"

5$$"21"55D55

*.5"131:"#

1#$"1#

1$:"###

 5'($"#:

#"55'($5"$

"1"#1#5#5:

"%#""'(

#1515"29#1

17""1:2#1

1$'(""1":

5#9"1

6.2 Blame in identity narratives

$1$""

551* :5

##$""2"1#1 7G

:G1#5

1$1"". 9"K$"&

"21:#1$5

:"

""1$#:

@8"##$

5$1%"1%55

1%2K#":

$?#I<41#:?#$"

""&%"10

%5*,// K$

5""@85""&

%"10%5*,'* 4"1$"1#

%&$$K"H&G$"$51

#$1#$#2)525

$"##0>* <1"#

:)@8""%"11##"#

5K$2:&

6.3 Blame in system narratives

"#$1"$$"%&

#"""#

1#51* $1:)

7##"119) 1

7"1"6"1 1"

#$#$. 

$5%9

D$#15%96115

6151I%2

91"1:51

5:9$'(#"51

"$9#$"5

"9'(#11

11"""

5:9$

"#911#$"$

$$#8$$%&#

5#59;$*+ 

6.4 What is special about strategic blame narratives

N1"#$"$"2

0"*' $##$5I20@

 2#"#"1$2

""#"2"551

114"

$"1#$"1

"1"2##"14"1

6"2#"1#"1

$"5#""#1

#2$1$0<2*J>

*- 

4#$51G

"K25&G"1"16##6#

"1551$

$#0@*+ 81552"

$"112"##&

$5""##25

5%#"$$15

76"55"

2#1"574

"#1

$1"%"$

5$#

"17

@1"#55

"#1""1"$"

"25"###$37

5"#"5

"1#$5%#5

:)@8N"1D#2#"#21

#5"71"2"#511%

5"##"#;"&##"

1$5""1"#$1

"#"$151"1

2##%#7%""

"$12$#555

5"#7$

#1:9$":9

% 5##51"##"5

7""$RN$$5

%2"2"$K$&7""5"

#D#2#5

1" $5H1##7

#$"P2$*'?$*+I10%*+ D6

$"$"16#

"#$%2"

3157%"10%5*,J+'/ 

%&"$11$5$

#"5H"#

2#"1"

41"#"#

5#"111"#"1

$"#"5#5

#$$##"%

27"11"

17# <"$"11

""$"""*, 

7. Concluding remarks

45$""#15#5#

1"1#$

81$5$"1#$

""2#"#1""$

7$55$'( 

1$1#1#$161

2""21$""$

1"#$

6#$"1"$##"

15$

$#'("1$##

#"#""1"1"25#$

#"H$"""'(

2"#$5

"#5""$515$

6"151""

1G"16

"G"5$#

H1#"$#$

###5#

!"$1"""$#

$$"""41""$

1"#$$1###"$H1

"H$$#'($1:

9 "1"

$5"$#

1$65#$

"#$$

References

@%*J #""#"#$

"1International Organization, 68* 

*J.*/-

<?30%D <""12#

$"1European Review of International Studies, 7. 

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European Security 
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<1!0%2L*/L1. D:"##%
#(%$"
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#
<$8# 589"K:9A727&9
())25")),*/+J.-+.+5
"525#)
9@2""08&#<*, :#D:"1
D##$D:
:24NEuropean Security, 28(. .''
91%09H!1N@ D"5P$
$"%&$$1Cambridge Review of 
International Affairs..' /*.G/..
!H!(091%* !$%&
%&15Media, War & Conflict, 14J J./J'+
I1D0%*+ 9$D91
#$#%&<65$#Journal of 
International Affairs/**' '.G-
9";5 :!9"55
ZD NetI1*,))555?"))
"55)
9! "A79#:44A'(<9
59Sputnik
))25")5)J.*/,*J'--,"5#
'#5)
9! 79"#5N4"7
I'(!$#(5Sputnik
))25"))'*/+J-..5"#
5"5'#$##5)
9! 5"7L%9"#N<21#
7N%$94!Sputnik,))25"))
*.*/+..J-/5"5H "#21# 
5$)

!$ 2#%&@$7<2@8

#9""9D6))"#)2#

$52"

D2"2 K@#5A&:2#$

9(&!". Sputnik,

))25")5).,*/+'*/J.,#5

2#$$#")

D505N@ E1#99F8#?

<$%1% Journal of Communication, 70' -.-J'

D$ Deciphering Russia’s “Sovereign Internet Law”: Tightening

Control and Accelerating the Splinternet.("9I#N1!(N

1@))##))))U)#1U

U$U

D9+ The Power of Words in International Relations: Birth of an Anti-Whaling

Discourse9"#4N

D9** 72R!H11

European Journal of International Relations, 17 ./.'

D2+ #1""#1

49%"0!D The Oxford handbook of international

relations-,,G// 8686:$1N

IN2@0@ @#$1#1

"$*/American Political Science Review, 114. //'G

/,*

I?;(0!*+ 11#<"Pacific Philosophical

Quarterly, 99* **+*.,

(D (%911#"

2R4$$!$1<22N2$D 

N#4#19VIDW

*,V"4$1"#$*/##

))#)**/),/+,+**'JJJU,

(C?D>9"%*, %Q78

European Politics and Society *..G*'.

*' !$#"$#$""52

1Discourse & Society, 26. ,/.

*/ $#"$#$"

""#Journal of Language and Politics, 16 *,J*

*+ 1#G#$""#"#""

#"$#Critical Discourse Studies, 15. +J-

*+ $""$:2#

###$""#"Policy Sciences, 51J 'J''-J

0N#% #"#$""""

<6"Critical Discourse Studies

))#)**+)*/J',J'+,/*

#$2;0@"9<* %"#"

#"""European Journal of International

Relations))H#")))***//)*.'J--***+*.

"07#9*/ 5D%

"5R1"52European Security, 26 *'.*/

2%>;$%02191*+ %$5

#$%5"#*'Russian Journal

of Communication** *G./

 Policy controversies and political blame games9"#

9"#:$1N

9** The blame game: Spin, bureaucracy and self-preservation in government

N@LN:$1N

D*- Affective communities in world politics9"#9"#

:$1N

D0<2%*J ?#"5International

Theory, 6. J,*'*J

L521<@0Q%* "#$5

9:$984!*,Journal of Chinese Political Science, 26 ,'

.*'

;2;<2$0M2*, Huawei, 5G and China as a Security Threat.

@89$91!9D699!98D 

;"L0;52L ##9&

49"#'(

International Journal of Information Management'J**J'

;#*, #"Philosophical Studies*//*J.G*J.,

;$*+ #%&#1Journal of

Strategic Studies, 41- ++/,*

; :9%15BDD3":

7#NN14%"$SputnikI1/

))25"))/*/+J*'15

?3"5#1)

; 1:<1'(D3"

9$Sputnik'

))25"))J'*/++J.-',1

"1'#3"$)

;#0O#*/ %&#1#"1

$"5Journal of Strategic StudiesJ- //.+*-

?2*, !"European Journal of

International Security, 4 /J+

"*' N&X<#IE44#"4"

>N$@21 The State of Russia: What Comes Next?<#2

N#$"***.-

$#0@L*+ I"##$1

1"52SAIS Review of International Affairs, 38 ****

";0;#* %#""

##4;0!;2#D Strategic Communications in

Russia: Public Relations and Advertising*' #%#

0 Strategic conspiracy narratives: A semiotic

approach%#

21$1*J %)$D:I"NN9

N9L’Europe en Formation./JJ /G.,

4*, The digitalization of public diplomacy@5P2#

20"*+ 9#91@"#

9&4$#1#International Journal of Communication

**+ .+.'G.+''

D*, 9##I":9%The Washington

QuarterlyJ. ,.**,

?$(*+ @#%European

Journal of Cultural Studies, 21' '/'',.

2""8&#<0%*. Strategic Narratives: Communication

Power and the New World Order@5P2%#

2""8&#<0%*/ 44Forging the World:

Strategic Narratives and International Relations, 2""><8&#>

% :$1#N*Y

2""08&#<*/ %&@$(8(N5

#N17Politics and Governance,'. ***G*

2""8&#<0B#LD * One Belt, One Road, One Story?:

Towards an EU-China Strategic Narrative9"N#$"

LL(IN@72LL*- Strategic

Communications: East and South.ND:41

@""<*- <2#<"5%"@8N1:2

9@8#9""9D6

))555"#)2#"5"12

""

8#%70@D*, %1&#1$P

Post-Soviet Affairs, 35 //,

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D4Forging the World: Strategic Narratives and International Relations, 

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International Strategy Review, 3'-G-'

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#5"1#$Contemporary 
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20"*' @5#$1Political Communication, 
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4International Journal of Communication*J J''-GJ'//
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Unveiling military strategic narratives on social media: a civil-military relations perspective

Article

Nov 2024
Eur Secur

Although the armed forces' social media narratives on operations can significantly influence public support, the rationale behind their decision-making process remains unclear. Drawing on civil-military relations theory, we explain the logic behind military decision-making in crafting these narratives. We argue that the strategic narratives of the armed forces are deeply influenced by their relationship with society. The nature of this relationship determines how the military balances two essential imperatives: promoting the armed forces' representation within the parent society and highlighting the distinct characteristics of the armed forces. This balance influences the extent to which operations are narrated (circulation or non-circulation) within the overall narration and how they are presented. We test our argument by analysing the Italian Army's Twitter communication. Tweets are analysed using an unsupervised LDA topic model on the entire corpus, manual coding of a subset on international missions and a mixed-method analysis. Our article contributes to the scholarship on public opinion and war, using an original methodology to analyse the strategic narratives of an overlooked actor. It also contributes to civil-military relations, suggesting an innovative method for studying the relationship between the armed forces and society.

Blame avoidance and critical language awareness: An approach from critical discourse studies

Chapter

Full-text available

Sep 2024

Sten Hansson

To hold on to power, officeholders may try to use language in ways that would impair the public understanding of harmful events and their causes, and derail debates over blame issues. It is therefore necessary to develop an approach to governmental blame avoidance that focuses on critical language awareness-citizens' improved understanding of social and political functions of language with a special consideration of how various discursive strategies of persuasion are used within struggles for power. This chapter presents a conceptual framework that integrates the contemporary methods of critical discourse studies-an important source of critical language awareness-with current knowledge of administrative blame avoidance. It shows how we could look beyond officeholders' well-known presentational strategies such as denials and justifications to understand more broadly how blame-takers and their deeds are represented in text and talk in particular ways that could modify the public perception of blame.

Discourses of political blame games: Introduction

Article

Full-text available

Jul 2024

In this introductory article, we provide a brief overview of discourse-analytic literature that deals with blame phenomena in politics. Our aim is to draw attention to the diversity of work done in this field and demonstrate how these studies may be classified based on four characteristics: (1) what kind of blame issues are addressed, (2) whether the focus is on blaming or blame avoidance, (3) which media and genres are included in the dataset, and (4) which methodological approaches are adopted.

A Plus for Peace : A Storytelling Approach to Reputational Security

Article

Jan 2025
Int J Strat Comm

Phillip Arceneaux

Russian War Against Ukraine Lessons Learned Curriculum Guide PDF

Book

Full-text available

Jul 2024

Dariusz Kozerawski

W publikacji opracowano szereg problemów dotyczących doświadczeń z pełnoskalowego konfliktu zbrojnego w Ukrainie. Opracowanie powinno być przydatne w szkolnictwie wojskowym oraz na kierunkach studiów związanych z naukami o bezpieczeństwie i stosunkach międzynarodowych.

POLIITIKASEMIOOTIKA VAADE VANDENÕUTEOORIATELE

Article

Jan 2024

Value creation through organizational storytelling: Strategic narratives in foreign government public relations

Article

Jun 2024
PUBLIC RELAT REV

Phillip Arceneaux

RUSSIAN WAR AGAINST UKRAINE

Presentation

Full-text available

Mar 2024

Bobby Batatina

RUSSIAN WAR AGAINST UKRAINE

Democratization, state capacity and developmental correlates of international artificial intelligence trade

Article

Full-text available

Dec 2023
Democratization

Does acquiring artificial intelligence (AI) technologies from the US or China render countries more authoritarian or technologically less advantageous? In this article, we explore to what extent importing AI/high-tech from the US and/or China goes parallel with importers' (a) democratization or autocratization, (b) state capacity, and (c) technological progress across a decade (2010-2020). Our work demonstrates that not only are Chinese AI/high-tech exports not congruous with importers' democratic backsliding, but autocratization attributed to Chinese AI is also visible in importers of US AI. In addition, for most indicators, we do not observe any significant effect of acquiring AI from the US or China on importers' state capacity or technological progress across the same period. Instead, we find that the story has a global inequality dimension as Chinese exports are clustered around countries with a lower GDP per capita, whereas US high-technology exports are clustered around relatively wealthier states with slightly weaker capacity over territorial control. Overall, the article empirically demonstrates the limitations of some of the prevalent policy discourses surrounding the global diffusion of AI and its contribution to democratization, state capacity, and technological development of importer nations.

استراتيجية السرد القصصي في محتوى مقاطع الفيديو وعلاقتها مع نوع المحتوى المقدم على قنوات اليوتيوب المصرية (دراسة تحليلية)

Article

Jul 2023

أسماء عبد العزيز سالم

Legitimation in government social media communication: The case of the Brexit department

Article

Full-text available

Apr 2022
Crit Discourse Stud

Sten Hansson

When governments introduce controversial policies or face a risk of policy failure, officeholders try to avoid blame and justify their decisions by using various legitimation strategies. This paper focuses on the ways in which legitimations are expressed in government social media communication, using the Twitter posts of the British government’s Brexit department as an example. We show how governments may seek legitimacy by appealing to (1) the personal authority of individual policymakers, (2) the collective authority of (political) organisations, (3) the impersonal authority of rules or documents, (4) the goals or effects of government policy, (5) ‘the will of the people’, and (6) time pressure. The results suggest that official legitimations in social media posts tend to rely more on references to authority and shared values rather than presentation of evidence and sound arguments.

The paperboys of Russian messaging: RT/Sputnik audiences as vehicles for malign information influence

Article

Full-text available

Feb 2022

Charlotte Wagnsson

This article examines the reception and dissemination of ‘malign information influence’ (MII) in a liberal democracy; information sponsored by authoritarian regimes or other hostile actors and projected through international broadcasting outlets across borders. The study contributes to the scarce research on the reception of narratives transmitted by the Russian state-supported media platforms RT and Sputnik, exposing characteristics, political attitudes, and sharing behaviors of RT/Sputnik consumers. A nationwide, representative survey (n: 3033) from November 2020 revealed a surprisingly high number of Swedish RT/Sputnik consumers (7%), with an overrepresentation of young, men and supports of non-parliamentarian parties and the right wing, nationalist Sweden Democratic Party. These consumers are somewhat more willing than non-consumers to disseminate news on social media and in real life despite being distrustful of the sources. The findings strengthen previous research in demonstrating the attractiveness of identity grievance narratives among alternative media consumers, yet the results show that RT/Sputnik consumers also aligned with narratives that contrasts with national security policy. They state less trust in politicians, institutions, the media, news, and journalism, yet are comparatively prone to share unreliable or untrue news content on social media and in real life. The analysis thus identified a section of media consumers who can function as vehicles for the dissemination of MII. The article contributes to the under-researched problem of the potential of MII to take root and provides a basis for future qualitative research that can refine and provide nuance to the knowledge of reception of MII.

On the use of pride, hope and fear in China’s international artificial intelligence narratives on CGTN

Article

Full-text available

Feb 2022
AI Soc

Carolijn van Noort

China communicates strategic narratives about artificial intelligence (AI) in digital media productions to create a shared meaning about its actions and its image in the global race to develop AI. Building upon the literature in emotions and strategic narratives, this study seeks to clarify which emotions are discursively used in China’s international AI narratives, and their function and significance. Specifically, the study investigates emotion discourses in AI-focused videos disseminated on China’s international broadcasting (CGTN YouTube channel). The analysis reveals that pride, hope and fear discourses have multiple functions in China’s international AI narratives on CGTN. Hope is used to represent China as a key competitor in the global AI race, who is catching up to the US. China uses pride to showcase its advances in AI applications, to highlight its transformation of traditional industries, and to identity itself as equal to the US. Fear is used to frame US’s perception of China’s AI developments, to suggest their crisis of confidence, but also to refute the “China threat”. Additionally, the fear discourse is used to deliberate anticipated risks, particularly on job loss and data privacy. These emotion discourses forge China’s identity as a future global AI power. The paper then discusses how these findings contribute to key debates about Chinese discourse and media strategy.

Feminist foreign policies (FFPs) as strategic narratives: Norm translation in Sweden, Canada, France, and Mexico

Article

Full-text available

Jul 2021

Drawing on the IR theories of norm translation and strategic narratives, this article focuses on how states translate international norms to their own advantage by producing strategic narratives to advance their soft power ambitions abroad. Using the example of feminist foreign policy (FFP), the article compares Sweden, Canada, France, and Mexico in their attempts to translate international feminist norms into their countries’ strategic narratives. This comparison is based on three strategic narrative types (issue, national, and international system narratives) and two types of feminism (liberal, intersectional). Issue narratives reveal that Sweden and Mexico give more priority to social policies, while France and Canada emphasise the role of the market in addressing gender inequality. International system narratives demonstrate that Sweden and Mexico perceive global challenges as drivers of gender inequality, while France and Canada see gender inequality as a cause of global problems. National narratives show that Sweden and Mexico refer to other FFP countries to ‘back up’ their feminist initiatives, while France and Canada do not relate to other states. Finally, while liberal feminism dominates all four FFPs, each state either prioritises particular aspects of it (legal, market, security, rights-based) or incorporates elements from intersectional feminism.

Reputation crisis management and the state: Theorising containment as diplomatic mode

Article

Full-text available

Apr 2021
EUR J INT RELAT

This article theorises containment as a diplomatic response mode for states when faced with potentially harmful attacks on their international identity and reputation. Despite widespread agreement in International Relations (IR) scholarship that identities matter in the context of state security, studies of crisis management have paid little attention to ontological security crises. Scholarly literature on public diplomacy has concerned itself mainly with proactive nation branding and reputation building; work on stigma management has privileged the study of how ‘transgressive’ states respond to identity attacks by recognising, rejecting or countering criticism. Our contribution is two-fold. First, we make the case that states do not perform as uniform entities when faced with ontological security crises – government representatives, bureaucratic officials and diplomats have varying roles and action repertoires available to them. Second, we argue that containment is a key but undertheorised part of the diplomatic toolkit in crisis management. Unpacking containment as a crisis management response mode, we combine insights from IR scholarship on emotions and diplomacy with insights on therapeutic practices from social psychology. We substantiate our argument with a case study of how Norwegian government representatives, bureaucratic officials and diplomats responded to escalating international criticism against Norway’s Child Welfare Services following a wave of transnational protests in 2016. A key finding is that whereas the dominant response mode of government ministers and bureaucratic officials was to reject the criticism, diplomats mainly worked to contain the situation, trying to prevent it from escalating further and resulting in long-term damage to bilateral relations.

Dimensions of rivalry: China, the United States, and Europe

Article

Full-text available

Feb 2021

Volker Perthes

The U.S.–China rivalry has become a guiding paradigm of international relation that can only be understood in its multidimensionality. Europe is not an equidistant observer of this conflict: European views of China have become much more critical, particularly with regard to human rights, China’s increasingly assertive regional posture and its perceived attempts to export its authoritarian political model. The COVID-19 pandemic has increased rather than mitigated mistrust. For Europe, the idea of “decoupling” from China is not an option. Rather Europe is developing its own instruments for a more coordinated China policy. It will likely continue to see China both as a competitor and as a multilateral partner and at the same time seek close coordination with the Biden administration on most international issues, including relations with China.

“Anything that Causes Chaos”: The Organizational Behavior of Russia Today (RT)

Article

Full-text available

Oct 2020

RT (formerly, Russia Today) is one of the most important organizations in the global political economy of disinformation. It is the most richly funded, well-staffed, formal organization in the world producing, disseminating, and marketing news in the service of the Kremlin. It is an agency accused of many things, but little is known about all the creative work involved in financing, governing, training, and motivating RT’s activities. To understand more about the production of political news and information by RT, we investigate its organizational behavior through in-depth interviews of current and former staff. Our data show that RT is an opportunist channel that is used as an instrument of state defense policy to meddle in the politics of other states. The channel has been established in the shadows of the Soviet media system and its organizational behavior is characterized by Soviet-style controls.

Blame and Complicity in International Relations: Making Non-intervention Morally Bearable

Article

Dec 2020

On various occasions, states have condemned other nations or groups for mass atrocities they commit; but this rarely leads to any step to redress the untoward situation. This article therefore asks: What functions does blame serve when the blamers lack – or are reluctant to use – the power or authority to punish transgressors? Unlike approaches that focus on the effects of blaming on the wrongdoer, we argue that openly attributing responsibility for wrongdoings to another state or non-state actor has become a normative strategy to shape the way a government is perceived domestically and abroad. Specifically, international blame serves two main objectives: an immediate, communicative function, that is, to express moral protest, and a future-oriented purpose, that is, to dispel future indictment of complicity. We suggest that a corollary of this normative strategy is to make non-intervention morally acceptable. Thus, while in principle the blamer might stand up for the violated norm and value the victims, the strategic use of blame tends to legitimate inaction, by diverting attention away from blaming’s deontic commitments. The article therefore warns against the instrumental use of blame as an act of supererogation (that is, an act that is not compulsory but whose performance is praiseworthy), and as a form of moral clearance (whereby the blamer acknowledges the issue but leaves responsibility for finding solution to the international society). Rather, while blaming ascribes responsibility for the act to an agent, we argue, it also puts the blamer in a specific moral situation: the necessity to take measures that interrupt the unfolding action. Our analysis leads us to put forward a plausible norm that broadens the scope of complicity in international politics: states become complicit in the wrongdoing of other actors (states or non-states) whenever they violate moral obligations that blaming demands. In other words, to blame is to commit oneself to act, though the exact nature of this action varies.

One Belt, One Road, One Story? Towards an EU-China Strategic Narrative: Towards an EU-China Strategic Narrative

Book

Jan 2021

This book explores the emerging EU-China relationship with a focus on the impact of the Belt and Road Initiative. It takes a narrative approach to understanding the EU-China relationship as a means to highlight how scholars in the EU and China interpret the narrativization of EU-China bilateral relations and to how this bilateral relationship is refracted through relations with third parties. The volume brings together scholars from China and Europe in the fields of Chinese foreign policy, EU studies, and strategic communication. The empirical focus cuts across policy, publics and media, and across history, political economy and diplomacy. The Belt and Road Initiative, alongside the other policy areas addressed in the chapters, offers ways for people in Europe and China to get to know one another in new ways, and for the EU and its member states and the Chinese state to forge new partnerships.

How do strategic narratives shape policy adoption? Responses to China's Belt and Road Initiative

Article

Nov 2020

Strategic narratives are increasingly considered important for domestic and international support for foreign policy. However, debate continues about why some strategic narratives successfully shape policy outcomes, while others are rejected. How states construct strategic narratives is well established. We know less about how states appropriate the strategic narratives of others, and the role this plays in policy adoption. Addressing this, we introduce a theoretical framework to trace the relationship between strategic narratives and policy adoption. Its central premise is that a state is more likely to adopt a new policy if it can strategically narrate about it in a way that promises material gain but without undermining its ontological security. We test our framework using states’ responses to China's Belt and Road Initiative (BRI). Examining the Second Belt and Road Forum in 2019, we trace how far China's strategic narratives are appropriated by multiple states – Kazakhstan, Italy, United Kingdom, Netherlands, United States, India, and Mexico. Countries appropriate China's narrative emphasis on connectivity, trade, and prosperity. However, they contest that China's intentions are benign, based on its human rights record, assertive foreign policy, and fears of indebtedness. Finally, we discuss our framework's utility in explaining what makes strategic narratives persuasive in International Relations.

Discourses of blame in strategic narratives: The case of Russia's 5G stories

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