Russia-Ukraine War: An Analytical Study on Van Dijk Ideological Square
, Vol.11
, Forty-Fourth Issue - International Crisis Management
PP:7 - 32
Authors:
Prof. Dr. Dina Ahmed Orabi *-Professor of Public Relations & Advertising and Media production program manager,,,Galala University
Dr. Eman M. Soliman Amin-Assistant Professor of Public Relations & Advertising,Public Relations & Advertising Department,Mass Communication Faculty,Cairo University
Abstract:
In February 2022, Russia launched a military attack on Ukraine which caused over nine hundred civilian death and pushed millions of Ukrainians to flee to neighboring countries. This ongoing conflict began in 2014, when Russian troops invaded eastern Ukraine; a year later, a peace treaty was signed, but the tension continued between these two countries.
This war has been described in different media outlets as a battle between democracy and autocracy; western media focused on the Russian role in the conflict and depicted Russia as hostile, aggressive, and the most dangerous country. On the other side, pro-Russian media outlets presented a different story.
Drawing on Van Dijk Ideological Square and thematic analysis. This study seeks to analyze Deutsche Welle and China Daily's representation of the Russian-Ukraine War from February 24 till July 1 to explain the main themes in the presentation of both media and what each news website focuses on. Besides, clarifying to what extent the ideology of both news websites impacts how each one has presented the war.
The main Results show that, both news websites focused on the same theme during covering the war, but from various angles. Both stressed the importance of the international community, but they focused on different countries. The United States was the crucial player from the China Daily perspective, while Russia was the threat to Europe and the world.
Deutsche Welle concentrated on the Humanitarian aspect of the war compared to China Daily; it described the refugee problems, the protection of the cultural heritage of Ukraine, and the impact of the war on climate change. While China Daily just focused on the civilian evacuation and the impact of the war on the spread of Covid-19
Key Words:
Thematic Analysis, Ideological Analysis, Russia-Ukraine War- News websites.
Research Language:
English
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