This master’s thesis seeks to establish an understanding of how Russia perceives the Chinese Arctic ambitions. Information and more importantly, the perception of information has become increasingly contested in the 21st century. Because of this, states often forge their narratives for strategic purposes. There can be various canals through which states send their message, but for this research, we have chosen to examine the Russian media. This is the reason why the research focuses on what pro-governmental Russian media outlets are publishing about China in the Arctic. Since it was intended to discover what these mediums are transmitting to the international audience, the articles examined were written in English.
This study considers both that the narratives identified in the pro-governmental media are socially constructed, and that they also might be strategically constructed. To successfully examine the narratives that the state-sponsored mediums attempt to highlight, the thesis compiles a database of 158 articles. Within these texts, a total of 17 different narrative frames were observed, which later were combined into narratives.
The research demonstrates that there is a notable correlation between global geopolitical events and how often the pro-Kremlin media outlets write about China in the Arctic. The sentiment in the articles becomes increasingly anti-western, if, for example, international sanctions are applied against Russia. Oftentimes it can be observed that the mediums emphasize the Sino-Russian cooperation if there is a significant economic event taking place, such as the Belt and Road Forum or the G20 summit. Based on the fact that international events seem to impact both the number of articles published in a short period and the general themes, it can be established that the narratives are consciously constructed. This implies that the Russian government is using the Anglophone pro-governmental media outlets to convey its message to the West in an attempt to sculpt the world view of the Western audience. This is done in an attempt to achieve future results and win the battle taking place in the minds of the readers.
Keywords: Strategic narratives; Russia; China; Arctic; media
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