This paper has set out to answer what Russia’s strategic narrative regarding the nuclear tensions with NATO over the Ukraine conflict as presented in Russia Today are. Through a thematic analysis of 58 articles extracted from Russia Today, this paper finds that Russia’s strategic narrative regarding the nuclear tensions with NATO as presented in RT is threefold: Russia sees the international system as a renewed Cold War system in which two superpowers have a nuclear face-off; it conceptualizes itself as a responsible actor wanting to avoid nuclear war while NATO is seen as internally divided and pushing nuclear brinkmanship; and sees itself as facing nuclear threats from both Ukraine and NATO.
This paper adds to the body of scholarly literature concerning Russian strategic narrative analyses in general but also provides important insights into a highly current topic. The present research opens up several further research questions which should be addressed in the future, e.g. about the reception of strategic narratives in RT’s audience and with special regard to the ongoing conflict in Ukraine.
References
Bacio Terracino, J., & Matasick, C. (2022, November 3). Disinformation and Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine. OECD. responses/disinformation-and-russia-s-war-of-aggression-against-ukraine-37186bde/
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Further Reading on E-International Relations
