Exploring Ideological Dimensions in Media Coverage of the Russia-Ukraine Crisis: A Comparative Discourse Study

Subject Areas :

Falah Abdulhasan Atiyah ¹ , Sahar Najarzadegan ^{2 *} , Hussein Musa Kadhim ³ , Mehdi Vaez Dalili ⁴

1 - Department of English Languages, Isfahan (Khorasgan) Branch, Islamic Azad University, Isfahan, Iran
2 - Department of English Languages, Isfahan (Khorasgan) Branch, Islamic Azad University, Isfahan, Iran
3 - Department of English, College of Basic of Education for Humanities. University of Kerbala, Kerbala, Iraq [e-mail]
4 - Department of English Languages, Isfahan (Khorasgan) Branch, Islamic Azad University, Isfahan, Iran

Received: 2024-09-10 Accepted : 2024-11-03 Published : 2025-01-17

Keywords: Critical Discourse Analysis, Media ideology, international conflict, Sociocultural framing, Comparative discourse, Geopolitical narratives, Media framing,

Abstract :

This study investigates the ideological dimensions of media representation of the Russia-Ukraine crisis by comparing British and Arab online newspapers. Grounded in Fairclough's framework of Critical Discourse Analysis, this paper investigates the narrative structure of The Guardian, The Sun, Arab News, and Gulf News in representing the conflict and how sociocultural and political contexts influence language use and framing strategies underpinning the ideologies. The study shows that British media, most especially The Guardian and The Sun, claim to mainly reinforce Western geopolitical narratives by framing Russia as an aggressor and Ukraine as a victim of war, emphasizing themes of democracy, aggression, and victimization. However, the media in the Arab world, such as Arab News and Gulf News, afford a more balanced approach that focuses on regional concerns like economic stability, humanitarian issues, and neutrality; on the other hand, it also covers a broad spectrum of views. Using such a comparison, this study exemplifies and contrasts the different ideological roots of media discourse within diverse cultural and political contexts. By pointing out how sociopolitical priorities and cultural values shape media framing, this study contributes to an understanding of the role that media plays in building global public opinion about international conflicts, more precisely in how media from different regions may frame the same event quite differently. This thus underlines the importance of cross-cultural media literacy and gives insight into the power of media in the perception-shaping process of a conflict.

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