Florida State University Libraries
Total Page:16
File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb
Florida State University Libraries Electronic Theses, Treatises and Dissertations The Graduate School 2017 Nuclearization as National Security a Comparative Analysis of Framing and Frame Building in Indian and Pakistani Newspapers Awais Saleem Follow this and additional works at the DigiNole: FSU's Digital Repository. For more information, please contact [email protected] FLORIDA STATE UNIVERSITY COLLEGE OF COMMUNICATION AND INFORMATION NUCLEARIZATION AS NATIONAL SECURITY A COMPARATIVE ANALYSIS OF FRAMING AND FRAME BUILDING IN INDIAN AND PAKISTANI NEWSPAPERS By AWAIS SALEEM A Dissertation submitted to the School of Communication in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy 2017 Awais Saleem defended this dissertation on July 19, 2017. The members of the supervisory committee were: Stephen D. McDowell Professor Directing Dissertation Christopher Coutts University Representative Andrew Opel Committee Member Brian Graves Committee Member The Graduate School has verified and approved the above-named committee members, and certifies that the dissertation has been approved in accordance with university requirements. ii This effort is dedicated to the two most important women in my life - my mother, Nuzhat Saleem, and my wife, Ayiesha Awais - for always standing by me through every thick and thin. iii ACKNOWLEDGMENTS This dissertation is a culmination of a long and fulfilling academic journey. When I look back, there are so many people who have contributed to the successes that I have achieved and for shaping the course of my life. To start with, I must thank my teachers in Pakistan. Each one of them, in their own unique ways, have contributed to my academic career. It is because of them that I have come to value education not just as the means to carve a career path but also to become a better person. I must also mention Dr. David Mould and Professor Penelope Abernathy for believing in me and agreeing to write letters of recommendation for my application to the Ph.D program. I owe them a lot more in making this Ph.D possible than they could ever imagine. I am highly indebted to my dissertation committee chair, Dr. Stephen McDowell, for being patient with me, for listening to my ideas, and for helping me make the transition from a journalist to an academic. He assumed the role of a teacher, mentor, guide, and friend simultaneously and was a constant source of support and encouragement throughout this Ph.D journey. The contribution of my other committee members, Dr. Andrew Opel, Dr. Christopher Coutts, and Dr. Brian Graves has been no less important. I can’t thank them enough for guiding me at each step along the way. I must also take this opportunity to thank Dr. Arthur Raney, and Dr. Laura Arpan, for their kindness. They have provided me with precious advice whenever I needed one and helped me clear my head on a number of occasions. I am thankful to the director of the School of Communication, Dr. Gary Heald, who inspired me to enhance my capability in quantitative research and agreed to provide funding for additional credit hours. I am also grateful to all the other faculty members in the School of Communication, and particularly those with whom I worked as a teaching assistant or research assistant. My interaction with them went a iv long way in helping me learn the prerequisites of a good teacher and researcher. Those lessons are going to stay with me for the rest of my life. My mother, Nuzhat, deserves a very special mention here because I would not have dared to dream and achieve so much in life, if it had not been for her constant encouragement to go on and pursue bigger objectives in life. This Ph.D would not have been possible without her prayers and support. A huge shout out to my wife, Ayiesha, and our two lovely kids, Waqas and Aabia, for being an integral part of this academic ride. They shared this vision with me and made huge sacrifices to see it becoming a reality. Whenever I felt like running out of steam, they kept me motivated. I also hope that my father, Chaudhary Muhammad Saleem, who left for his eternal abode in 2009, will be proudly watching from heaven as his son has finally earned a doctorate. The respondents of this research, whom I interviewed in both India and Pakistan, deserve my immense gratitude because they trusted me and agreed to speak with me on sensitive topics related to their work. All of them work in highly volatile environments for journalists and talking about the role of media in Indo-Pak rivalry required extra caution. However, they understood the importance of this research and agreed to speak to me, providing invaluable information in the process. The help extended by my friend, Jaideep Sarin, in establishing contact with the Indian journalists, and in convincing them to agree to speak to me in a candid manner is something I will always cherish. I may have missed a few names here. Therefore, I want to thank each and every person who has contributed in every little way to make me what I am today. I believe it is important to set new goals at different stages in life to keep oneself motivated. This Ph.D is one important milestone in that journey. I feel blessed to have friends, family, and teachers who have contributed enormously at each and every step in making this a worthwhile voyage. v TABLE OF CONTENTS List of Figures ............................................................................................................................... vii Abstract ........................................................................................................................................ viii 1. INTRODUCTION ......................................................................................................................1 2. THE INDIA-PAKISTAN CONUNDRUM ..............................................................................16 3. THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK ............................................................................................27 4. METHODS ...............................................................................................................................55 5. CONTENT ANALYSIS – KEY FINDINGS AND ANALYSIS .............................................76 6. INTERVIEWS – KEY FINDINGS AND ANALYSIS ..........................................................105 7. DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSIONS ..................................................................................141 APPENDICES .............................................................................................................................164 A. CODING SHEET FOR CONTENT ANALYSIS ..................................................................164 B. INTERVIEW QUESTIONNAIRE .........................................................................................165 C. INFORMED CONSENT FORM ............................................................................................167 D. HUMAN SUBJECTS (IRB) APPROVAL LETTER .............................................................169 References ....................................................................................................................................170 Biographical Sketch .....................................................................................................................200 vi LIST OF FIGURES 1 Sushma Swaraj, Indian Foreign Minister (Twitter, 2017) .....................................................134 2 M. Nafees Zakaria, Pakistan’s Foreign Office Spokesman (Twitter, 2017) ..........................136 3 Aman ki Asha (Destination Peace) advertisement (Jang, 2016) ...........................................152 4 Abbas Nasir, former editor, Daily Dawn, Pakistan (Twitter, 2017) ......................................157 5 Asad Hashim, Pakistan correspondent, Al-Jazeera English (Twitter, 2017) .........................158 6 Siddharth, founding editor, online news site, The Wire (Twitter, 2017) ...............................159 7 Arnab Goswani, anchor/managing director, Republic TV, India (Twitter, 2017) .................160 vii ABSTRACT Global politics is a complex game, particularly when conflict dominates the relationship between countries. South Asia is no different as both India and Pakistan have fought four wars since achieving independence from the British in 1947. Both countries have acquired nuclear capability but the tense nature of the bilateral relationship has given rise to fears of a potential nuclear war in the region. There were hopes of a thaw in relationship after the new governments assumed power following the general elections in Pakistan (2013) and in India (2014). However, these hopes were quickly dashed following an escalation in cross-border firing incidents along the line of control (LoC) in the Kashmir valley. The status of Kashmir valley has become a flashpoint of bilateral conflict between India and Pakistan. Both India and Pakistan occupy parts of the valley and blame each other for illegal occupation and infiltration to justify the use of aggressive tactics. India and Pakistan have a collective population of close to 1.5 billion (almost twenty percent of the global population). Both countries rank consistently low on human development and press freedom indices, but the respective governments in India and Pakistan continue to divert large chunks of their annual budgets for defense-related expenditures instead of providing better health, education, and infrastructure facilities to their citizen. In such a scenario, the media’s