The Images of the EU Framed by Russian Officials in Social Media
The images of the EU framed by Russian officials in social media Viktor Lambin University of Helsinki Faculty of Social Sciences European and Nordic Studies Master’s Thesis May 2021 Abstract Faculty: Faculty of Social Sciences Degree programme: Master’s Programme in European and Nordic Studies Study track: Master of Social Sciences track Author: Viktor Lambin Title: The images of the EU framed by Russian officials in social media Level: Master’s Thesis Month and year: May 2021. Number of pages: 104 Keywords: The EU, Russia, social media, identity construction, discourse, officials Where deposited: Social Sciences, European and Nordic studies, Russian studies Additional information: Abstract: The contemporary crisis between Russia and the EU, reflects, among other things, in the identity construction in both European and Russian domestic discourses. In view of the current conflict between Russia and Europe, it is crucial to comprehend how both actors perceive each other and the reality(ies) of the current status of their bilateral relations. According to the post-structuralists, foreign policies are dependent on the representations of “us” and “them”, articulated in national discourses. Such constructs are often represented through mass media, and given the growing adaptation of IT technologies, social media specifically become a suitable platform for the distribution of the images of “us” and “them” for both domestic and foreign audiences. The study seeks to identify which images of the EU are framed by Russian officials in social media and whether such frames correlate with some aspects of Russian domestic and foreign agendas. The thesis focuses on the images of the EU framed by Russian officials in the period between March 2019 and December 2019, a drastic period of EU-Russia relations, triggered by the Ukrainian crisis.
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