Information influence from authoritarian states poses significant challenges for democracies all around the world. The projecting of strategic narratives has become a key-strategy in cross border influence. Utilizing the theoretical framework of strategic narratives, this study seeks to comprehend information influence in Russian state media. Specifically, how state-owned Sputnik portrays Sweden concerning the Quran burnings in the country during year 2023. With the use of a narrative analysis the study has investigated how the narratives were constructed and were able to identify recurring patterns in the news reporting. The strategic narratives that was found were (1) Sweden as an Islamophobic country, (2) Ridiculing of Sweden (3) Sweden as a divided country (4) Positive image of Russia (5) Sweden as a country in conflict (6) Sweden as a state in decline.

This thesis studies news media published by Lithuanian, Polish and Russian news outlets on the Suwałki Gap and the Kaliningrad Oblast. It analyses whether and how these online news articles portray a risk for conflict in this geopolitical area for English-speaking audiences. The methodology uses qualitative content analysis and a theoretical framework based on the theory of strategic narratives and both the Copenhagen School approach and the sociological approach to securitization to code the content that has been published. The timeframe spans from 2021 to 2023, which corresponds to the Russian and Belarusian ‘Zapad exercises’ in the region. Analysis of the online news articles finds a series of narratives. Some confirm that Russia’s main goal is to either justify Russian (military) actions towards ‘the West’, or to spread chaos through malign information influence. Others, against the expectations of the literature, show that Polish and Lithuanian uses of securitization are significantly different, especially due to a different kind of portrayal of vulnerability in the securitization process. However, the large-scale invasion of Ukraine has also caused strengthened (military) cooperation between the two countries. This study contributes to developing a better understanding of securitizing narratives that national and state-owned media outlets use to portray risk, especially when Russia is involved.

As immigration turns into the scapegoat of political and social tensions all over the world and politicians that seem to be talking about migration flows communicate instead their conception of the world and where it should head, this study investigates the refugee crisis of 2015 as represented in the two global television channels RT and BBCW. Widely studied for the depiction the press gives of the refugees, for the first time the refugee crisis is analyzed as an arena where competing understandings of international relations are constructed, in a media ecology where a myriad of actors have a chance to foreground their truth and where wars are fought, and possibly won, through the weapons of values, culture and the attraction they exercise (Nye Jr. 1990, 2013). Borrowing the concept of strategic narratives from international relations (Miskimmon et al. 2013) and applying it to textual analysis, the study employs framing analysis to operationalize it and explores a sample of 144 news items (74 from RT and 70 from BBCW) broadcast in August and September 2015 to retrace the narratives of the two channels. It finds out that, although conflicting with each other, both RT’s and BBCW’s narratives are strategic and aim at constructing a past, present and future of international relations that can influence what we expect, consider acceptable or conceivable on the international theater. The channels’ narratives are about the destiny of Europe and countries, depicting a reality that still responds to old Cold War dividing lines. An analysis of the actors allowed to speak and represented as acting confirms that in RT and BBCW political elites and the nations they represent have a greater chance, compared to other actors, to define international politics and shape shared understandings of how international relations works and where it is heading.

The justification of war is a central issue in international relations, and the characteristic political response to war is to adopt a story that offers a degree of explanation. Narratives play a central role in garnering public support for wars to be seen as legitimate. Soft power, which includes sociocultural factors such as the state's image, credibility, shared values, and moral authority, also plays a crucial role. In the digital age, with the rise of social media, diplomacy has transformed and become a primary source of news with unparalleled global reach. Consequently, digital diplomacy has become essential for states to communicate their policy objectives directly to their audience through compelling social media narratives, especially during times of war. There have been few studies examining the relationship between soft power, digital diplomacy, and strategic narratives during wartime. This study uses visual narrative analysis (VNA) to address this gap by analysing eight video tweets published by the Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA) during the Israeli-Hamas war from October 7, 2023, and the six months after. The results show that the Israeli MFA used strategic narratives to legitimise the war. Notably, they used visual representations to emphasise Israel’s right to self-defence and its proximity to Western ideals, to garner support. Strategic narratives provide a storytelling which invoke the past to illuminate the present and future and create a shared identity in the context of the Israel-Hamas War.

There is a considerable gap between what scientists argue is necessary to avoid the most dramatic consequences of climate change and what governments around the world are currently achieving with their mitigation strategies and national pledges. This is partly due to the general inability to communicate solutions to climate change in a desirable way. Strategic narratives have been found to be a great tool to improve the effectiveness of climate change communication. Common narratives in climate change communication are the “Gore” narrative, “End of the World” narrative, “Climate Target” narrative and the “Green Living” narrative. Sweden has been considered a leading country in the field of sustainability in recent years. However, the newly formed government does not seem to be overly concerned with improving environmental sustainability, considering that their proposed policies would lead to an increase in greenhouse gas emissions for Sweden for the first time in decades. The Swedish Climate Policy Council has been formed in order to evaluate whether Swedish policies are aligned with Sweden’s national climate targets on an annual basis. This thesis examines recent reports of the Swedish Climate Policy Council through a document analysis in order to estimate the effectiveness of their climate change communication. The reports were coded using framework analysis and corresponding narrative statements were identified and categorized in the above mentioned narrative categories. Relative frequency of different types of narratives is analyzed and, based on recent climate change communication research, recommendations for improvements are given. It has been found that the Swedish Climate Policy Council should create a strategic narrative for climate change communication, based on the values of the current government.

This thesis examines the extent to which European journalistic coverage of the Eurovision Song Contest (ESC) supports the nation branding of individual countries, focusing on Ukraine's participation during 2016 and 2022. Through an analysis of 16 selected articles from British and Swedish media outlets, the study investigates how Swedish and British media outlets report on how Ukraine's portrayal in the ESC contributes to its nation branding efforts. Drawing upon theoretical frameworks of strategic narrative and nation branding, the research explores two main questions: To what extent does media coverage support Ukraine's nation branding in the ESC? And has there been any change in coverage since 2016? Furthermore, the study reflects on why nation branding within the profession of journalism has become accepted and not questioned, examining the implications for the profession and its role in society. Through a qualitative narrative analysis based on the concept of framing, two distinct narratives were revealed: "Ukraine's Resistance Against Oppression and Invasion" and "Support and Solidarity from Europe." The findings demonstrate differences in reporting between Swedish and British media, with shifts in focus observed between 2022 and 2016. This study underscores the role of media in shaping perceptions and nation branding, offering insights into the dynamics of strategic narratives and media influence, and the evolving role of journalism in society.

The thesis aims to give a deeper understanding of the Russian use of soft power by examining identity building. This research is one of very few that shed light on Russia’s ambitions of exploitation of space. Further knowledge in the field is necessary to understand the underlying motives and objectives behind the Russian space program. This in-depth analysis fills a noteworthy knowledge gap. Using the method of narrative analysis as defined by Roselle, Miskimmon, and O’Laughlin (2014,2017), combined with the theory of strategic narratives and state identity as defined by Eriksson et al (2020), the thesis investigates Russian identity building, examining Russian space program under Putin. In particular, Putin’s 2013, 2016 and 2020 Cosmonautics Day video link-ups with the International Space Station are analyzed. This thesis attempts to define Russia’s future space plan and its geopolitical importance in maintaining the nation’s role on the international arena post-soviet. The results indicate that Eriksson et al's definition of cultural narratives about state identity can be found in future Russian space plans.

This study focuses on the similarities and differences between Russian and Anglo-Saxon strategic narratives in relation to the interventions in Syria 2015 and Libya 2011. The aim is to investigate the imitation theory further as it has been described by Krastev and Holmes (2019) and if it is possible to claim that the Russian regime has used imitated strategic narratives from the United States and the United Kingdom as a soft power tool in the Syrian intervention. By using narrative analysis, 12 speeches made by Putin, Medvedev, Lavrov, Camron, and Obama have been analyzed in order to find similarities and differences between Anglo-Saxon and Russian strategic narratives in connection to interventions in countries affected by the Arabic Spring. The results show indication of imitation from the Russian side regarding themes such as the United Nations and people’s right to choose their own governanc

This thesis investigates the usage of antagonistic narrative strategies in Chinese state media narratives about the European Union, thus gaining a greater understanding of the usage of narratives by authoritarian states. Articles published during March 2021 and November 2021 by the English-language Chinese state media organisation Global Times are analysed using a novel framework developed by Wagnsson & Barzanje (2021). This framework identifies three strategies used in antagonistic narration but has thus far only been applied to Russian media. Through the framework, the study found that Chinese state media narratively attacked the political systems of the EU and its member states, undermined their relationship with the United States, while also presenting a deepened EU-China relationship as constructive and necessary for the EU’s pursuit of strategic autonomy. The findings suggest that while the antagonistic narrative strategies used by Chinese and Russian media are the same, Chinese state media use different contexts and juxtapose the EU and its member states with different actors to cast them positively or negatively.

Information influence in its most manipulative form can be equated with an attack that threatens democratic values. In order to be able to identify, respond to, and counteract such an attack, it can be argued that it is fundamental to increase the understanding of information influence as a phenomenon. The Chinese President Xi Jinping has formulated an aim to make China democratic by2049. Despite this ambition, actions taken by Xi indicate the opposite direction. This thesis is motivated by the above paradox and attempts to provide insight to the matter by, based on the theoretical framework of strategic narratives, analyzing, by combining textual and narrative analysis, what patterns can be discerned in how democracy is portrayed in Chinese English-language state media. This study uses Global Times as empirical base. From the identified narrative patterns one can distinguish three strategic narratives; 1) The narrative where Western democracy is described as dysfunctional, 2) The narrative where democracy is described as a tool in the pursuit of more power, 3) The narrative whereChina's definition of democracy is described as superior and one Neutral, non-strategic, narrative. The analysis further demonstrates how these strategic narratives can be understood as information influence, produced to create mistrust between actors with the purpose to shape the receiver's perception about democracy. The thesis concludes that Global Times uses certain strategic narratives in combination to exert information influence. The overall strategy, as previous research already identified, is that China shapes its own definition of democracy by discrediting the Western and the generally accepted variant of the concept of democracy, while emphasizing its own. This study has sought not just to contribute with empirical evidence that they are doing this but to also describe how the systematic of the procedure appears – which the identified narrative patterns describe.