On the 21 st of November 2013, the then Ukrainian president Viktor Yanukovych announced his decision to suspend signing an association agreement with the European Union. Discontent about the...Show moreOn the 21 st of November 2013, the then Ukrainian president Viktor Yanukovych announced his decision to suspend signing an association agreement with the European Union. Discontent about the suspension lead to the eruption of protests at Independence square in Kyiv, where demonstrators insisted the president would sign the agreement as planned. When the president and his administration appeared unwilling to concede, protesters increasingly called for his resignation and for early elections. When the president fled the country in February 2014 after four months of protests, the crisis in Ukraine was far from over. The Crimean peninsula got annexed by Russia, and an armed conflict arose in the Donbas region. The events have been widely reported by international media, although in divergent ways. The western narrative characterised the protests as a revolution of dignity that would make an end to Russia’s dominance in the country. The Russian media however, presented it as a fascist coup sponsored by the West that threatened the population of the Russian world (Szostek 2018, 118-119). This paper will analyse articles that were published by RIA Novosti and later transferred to the website of Sputnik news in order to find out what narrative has been communicated to an international audience. The analysis will be done at the hand of examination of the applicability of the protest paradigm on a selection of articles that are linked to the protests. Firstly however, it will be reviewed what has so far been written on a handful of topics that relate to the topic of this paper. The crisis in Ukraine that started as a result of the protests will be introduced, after which the role of soft power in the conflict is demonstrated. Strategic narrative as a form of soft power, and various analyses of Russian narratives in this context will be displayed thereafter. As protests are oftentimes portrayed in a way that marginalises the protests and the protesters, literature that deals with the protest paradigm will be reviewed as well. The reception of strategic narratives by the audience is key to the perceived credibility of narratives and will be thus be considered as well. In order to contextualise the findings of this paper, earlier analysis of Russia Today will exemplify the current knowledge on the narratives on the Ukrainian pro-European protests in English- language Russian media.Show less
The following research was conducted in order to shed some in depth light on how a "Belt and Road Initiative" project can look like in reality. As China consistently portrays the BRI as mutual...Show moreThe following research was conducted in order to shed some in depth light on how a "Belt and Road Initiative" project can look like in reality. As China consistently portrays the BRI as mutual beneficial and a "win-win" situation for all participants, I was keen on verifying this statement and identify if this proclamation matches reality. For this purpose, the “Special Economic Zone” of Khorgos, which is located in Kazakhstan, was chosen. It is a project along the BRI, at the border of Kazakhstan and China. The project itself has not seen much media coverage and hence turned out to be an insightful research project. The general purpose of Khorgos is to boost the amount of traded goods as well as attract investment into the area. The chosen method of research aimed at analyzing speeches given by officials of both countries regarding the BRI as well as Khorgos specifically and from that derive a possible contrast with reality. The result of the research was, that, as the project came only recently into being, it disclosed several negative aspects such as the lack of information, clarity and entry barrier for third parties outside of China and Kazakhstan. Moreover, it turned out that the business advantages prevail heavily on the Chinese side. Khorgos is furthermore not as fruitful as initially anticipated by both parties. Additionally, it is likely that China will remain the main investor in the region and continue to seek to explore new trade corridors. along the BRI, at the border between Kazakhstan and China, which has not seen much coverage and hence turned out to be an insightful research project.Show less
