Leiden University Student Repository

Baars, Randy (2020)

Development of Chinese state media narratives: A frame analysis of the People's Daily on air pollution

Bachelor thesis | International Studies (BA)

this paper analyses air pollution discourse in the People's Daily, a Chinese state media outlet, in order to answer the question of how this discourse has changed throughout the 2010s and to what extent the CCP's climate policy and China's position in international climate debates played a role in this. By means of frame analysis, this paper illustrates how the People's Daily discusses air pollution throughout the last decade, and in how far this is a reflection of a contemporary climate policy background as well as China's position in concurrent climate negotiations. The results of the analysis establish certain patterns throughout the 2010s, showing a constant use of remedy framing, and a strong increase in audience-based framing since 2015. This increase in audience-based framing can be seen as a tool for soft power among foreign audiences, making foreign readers more susceptible to a Chinese solution to climate change.

frame analysis

air pollution

China

state media

Author

Baars, Randy

Note

This paper adds to the larger research of Chinese perspectives on climate change. Since frame analysis methods are interpretative by nature, repetition of the study by other authors is necessary to corroborate the results.

Faculty

Faculty of Humanities

Specialisation

East Asia

Supervisors

Ghiasy, Richard

ECTS Credits

15

Language

en