Risks of the Terrorism Paradigm Misuse for Media Coverage of Russia's Military Aggression against Ukraine
Abstract
The purpose of the research: to define what signature traits of terrorism correspond to Russia's military aggression against Ukraine after the full-scale invasion on February 24, 2022, and to analyze the potential communication risks of media coverage of Russia's aggression under the terrorism paradigm.
Research methodology. The method of comparative analysis is applied to compare the signature traits of the terrorism phenomenon with the nature of Russia's military aggression. The analysis, synthesis, abstraction, analogy, and evaluation methods made it possible to examine and evaluate each signature trait in-depth. The author also used the formalization method to present findings as a table.
Results. The importance of using correct and relevant concepts in the media to denote objects of reality is emphasized, and the potentially destructive communicative effects on the audience in the case of using inaccurate definitions or blurring objects of reality by broad synonymy of terms with different interpretations are analyzed. This issue is updated in the context of using the terrorism paradigm for media coverage of Russia's military aggression against Ukraine after the February full-scale invasion. It is found that a third of the signature traits of the "terrorism" definition by A. Schmid ("academic consensus") do not fully correspond to Russia's actions and strategy. Therefore, media should consider these features using the terrorism paradigm for covering the ongoing war in Ukraine. The potential harmful communicative effects in case of complete identification of Russia's military aggression against Ukraine with terrorism are outlined.
Novelty. It is defined which signature traits of terrorism do not fully correspond to Russia's actions and strategy during military aggression against Ukraine after the February invasion (instead of seeking corresponding signature traits). The potential negative communicative effects on the audience by inaccurate, irrelevant, or untargeted using the terrorism paradigm for media coverage of the Russian war are outlined.
Practical value. The article explains the implications of incorrect definitions usage and the terrorism paradigm in the media coverage of Russia's war against Ukraine, which journalists are recommended to pay attention to in their professional activities. Moreover, the conducted comparative analysis enables journalists to understand better the nature of terrorism and the relevance of this phenomenon to current events in Ukraine. Besides, the study's results contribute to the broader scientific and public discussion about the qualification of Russia's crimes, considering the dimensions of terrorism and genocidal war.
Key words: media, terrorism, military aggression of the Russian Federation against Ukraine, conceptual thinking, journalism, war.
Full Text:
PDF (Українська)References
Vygotskiy, L. S. (1996). Myshleniye i rech [Thinking and speech]. Moscow: Labirint [in Rus-sian].
Voienni zlochyny Rosii: vid Chechni do Syrii [Russia's war crimes: from Chechnya to Syria]. MIP Ukraine. Retrieved from https://translate.google.com/?hl=ru&sl=uk&tl=en&text=https%3A%2F%2Fmkip.gov.ua%2Ffiles%2Fpdf%2Fзлочини_укр.pdf%20&op=translate [in Ukrainian].
Vse, shcho vy khotily znaty pro status derzhavy-sponsora teroryzmu [Everything you wanted to know about state-sponsored terrorism status]. Ukrainska pravda. Retrieved from https://www. pravda.com.ua/cdn/cd1/terroriststate/ [in Ukrainian].
Henshtab kazhe, shcho v Ukraini zahynuly ponad 100 tysiach rosiiskykh viiskovykh. Shcho vidomo pro vtraty storin [The General Staff says that more than 100,000 Russian soldiers died in Ukraine. What is known about the losses of the parties]. BBC Ukraina. Retrieved from https://www.bbc.com/ukrainian/news-64056521 [in Ukrainian].
Danilov zaklykav ne nazyvaty okupantiv «orkamy», «rusneiu» chy «svynosobakamy»: rozmyvaie obraz voroha [Danilov urged not to call the occupiers «orcs», «Russians» or «pig dogs»: blurring the enemy image]. Detektor media. Retrieved from https://detector.media/infospace/
article/206341/2022-12-26-danilov-zaklykav-ne-nazyvaty-okupantiv-orkamy-rusneyu-chy-svynosobakamy-rozmyvaie-obraz-voroga/ [in Ukrainian].
Dynamika stavlennia naselennia do Rosii ta emotsiinyi fon unaslidok viiny [Dynamics of tpopula-tion's attitude towards Russia and the emotional background as a result of the war]. KMIS. Re-trieved from https://www.kiis.com.ua/?lang=ukr&cat=reports&id=1112&page=1 [in Ukrainian].
Lipkan, V. A. (2000). Teroryzm: yurydychna definitsiia ta zmist [Terrorism: legal definition and meaning]. Mizhvidomchyi naukovyi zbirnyk «Teroryzm i borotba z nym» [Interdepartmental sci-entific collection «Terrorism and the fight against it»]. Kyiv: Naukovo-doslidnyi instytut «Prob-lem liudyny» [in Ukrainian].
Mamedov, H. «Zaklyky do henotsydu»: yake pokarannia chekaie na kremlivskykh propa-handystiv? [«Calls to genocide»: what punishment awaits Kremlin propagandists?]. Radio Svo-boda. Retrieved from https://www.radiosvoboda.org/a/zlochyny-rosiyski-propahandysty-henotsyd/31752518.html [in Ukrainian].
Myslovskyi, I. Zvirstva rosiiskoi armii v Ukraini: kolektyvna vyna rosiian chy osobysto Putina? [Atrocities of the Russian Army in Ukraine: Russians' Collective Guilt or Putin's Personal Re-sponsibility?]. Radio Svoboda. Retrieved from https://www.radiosvoboda.org/a/zvirstva-voyenni-zlochyny-rosiyany-putin/31795679.html [in Ukrainian].
Myslovskyi, I. Teror yak zasib: navishcho Putinu vshchent zruinovanyi Mariupol? [Terror as a Mean: Why Putin Needs Completely Destroyed Mariupol]. Radio Svoboda. Retrieved from https://www.radiosvoboda.org/a/putin-teroryzm-zalyakuvannya/31774975.html [in Ukrainian].
Rekomendatsii Komisii z zhurnalistskoi etyky shchodo vzhyvannia stylistychno zabarvlenoi leksyky v zhurnalistskykh materialakh pro viinu [Recommendations of Journalism Ethics Com-mission regarding the usage of stylistically colored vocabulary in journalist materials about the war]. KZhE. Retrieved from https://cje.org.ua/statements/rekomendatsii-komisii-z-zhurnalistskoi-etyky-shchodo-vzhyvannia-stylistychno-zabarvlenoi-leksyky-v-zhurnalistskykh-materialakh-pro-viynu/ [in Ukrainian].
Rekomendatsii Komisii z zhurnalistskoi etyky shchodo slovnyka voiennoho chasu [Recommen-dations of Journalism Ethics Commission on the Wartime Vocabulary]. KZhE. Retrieved from https://cje.org.ua/statements/rekomendatsii-komisii-z-zhurnalistskoi-etyky-shchodo-slovnyka-voiennoho-chasu/ [in Ukrainian].
Rosiia skoiuie vsi naiavni typy tiazhkykh voiennykh zlochyniv proty ditei v Ukraini – eksperty [Russia commits all possible types of serious war crimes against children in Ukraine – experts]. ZMINA. Retrieved from https://zmina.info/news/rosiya-skoyuye-vsi-shist-typiv-tyazhky-voyennyh-zlochyniv-proty-ditej-v-ukrayini/ [in Ukrainian].
Snyder, T. 6 dokaziv toho, shcho Rosiia planuie henotsyd. Lektsiia Timoti Snaidera [Russia In-tends to Commit Genocide in Ukraine, Six Ways to Prove It. Lecture by Timothy Snyder]. Re-trieved from https://www.eurointegration.com.ua/articles/2022/10/23/7149219/ [in Ukrainian].
Suspilno-politychni nastroi pid chas povnomasshtabnoho vtorhnennia viisk RF na terytoriiu Ukrainy [Socio-political mood during the full-scale invasion of the Russian Federation troops on the territory of Ukraine]. Gradus. Retrieved from https://gradus.app/documents/ 183/Gradus_Report_War_ 01032022w3.pdf [in Ukrainian].
Yasiukova, L. A. (2005). Zakonomirnosti rozvytku poniattievoho myslennia ta yoho rol u navchanni [Patterns of development of conceptual thinking and its role in education]. Saint-Petersburg: SE IMATON [in Ukrainian].
Aran, G. (2019). Striking home: ideal-type of terrorism. Terrorism and Political Violence, 31 (5), 992–999 [in English].
Borshchevskaya, A. The Russian way of war in Syria: Threat Perception and Approaches to Counterterrorism. The Washington Institute for Near East Policy. Retrieved from https://www.washingtoninstitute.org/media/352 [in English].
Brunton, G., & Wilson, T. (2020). Terrorism: Its Past, Present & Future Study – A Special Issue to Commemorate CSTPV at 25. Contemporary Voices: St Andrews Journal of International Re-lations, 1 (4), 1–88 [in English].
Esch, C. Putins Rede und was sie bedeutet. Spiegel. Retrieved from https://www.spiegel.de/ ausland/putin-verschiebt-mal-wieder-grenzen-a-55fe13f6-ffe8-4128-8bcc-8ed302a405ef [in German].
Ferguson, N. Ukraine’s Army Is Winning But Its Economy Is Losing. Bloomberg. Retrieved from https://www.bloomberg.com/opinion/articles/2022-09-13/niall-ferguson-ukraine-s-army-is-winning-but-its-economy-is-losing?leadSource=uverify%20wall&fbclid=IwAR1rWDmiU0QGuX2j4l8dyTlrIscgdjLT0xhrRlEqJFaZOkJeSf1b97Dj_fc [in English].
Greenberg, J., & Jacobson, L. Putin's one-sided history of Ukraine's relationship with Russia. PolitiFact. Retrieved from https://www.politifact.com/article/2022/feb/23/putins-one-sided-history-ukraines-relationship/ [in English].
Marchuk, I., & Wanigasuriya, A. (2022). Beyond the False Claim of Genocide: Preliminary Reflections on Ukraine's Prospects in Its Pursuit of Justice at the ICJ. Journal of Genocide Research. doi: 10.1080/14623528.2022.2143528 [in English].
Schmid, A. P. (2012). The Revised Academic Consensus Definition of Terrorism. Perspectives on Terrorism, (6) 2, 158-159 [in English].
Ukraine: civilian casualty update 26 December 2022. UN Human Rights Office of the High Commissioner. Retrieved from https://www.ohchr.org/en/news/2022/12/ukraine-civilian-casualty-update-26-december-2022 [in English].
DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.32840/cpu2219-8741/2022.4(52).8
Refbacks
- There are currently no refbacks.
Since 2013, all electronic versions of the journal are stored in the National Library of Ukraine named after VI Vernadsky of the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine and presented on the portal in the information resource "Scientific Periodicals of Ukraine".
Indexing of the journal in scientometric databases:
The publication is indexed by Citefactor: 2019/2020: 4,54.
The journal is indexed by Google Scholar.
In 2020, the journal was included in the Index Copernicus.
The journal is indexed by Innospace Scientific Journal Impact Factor (SJIF): 2016: 5,899, 2017: 6,435, 2018: 7,037, 2019: 7,431
From 2020, the collection is indexed by ResearchBib.
Journal included in the PKP Index.