The invasion of Ukraine by Russia in February 2022 has greatly impacted the political environment, especially, around energy and gas imports from Russia. As a country previously highly dependent on Russian gas and the Nord Stream 2 project underway, Germany’s position is particularly interesting. While there is literature on the topic, it lacks the utilization of discourse analysis. To identify discursive changes in the use of language in the German government, official government speeches or statements from the early 2000s and after the Ukraine crisis in 2014 are being analysed. The happenings of 2014 are considered to be the first significant event in the energy relation between Germany and Russia. Both stylistic devices and narratives are being considered in the analysis. The findings show a lack of application of stylistic devices throughout the selected material, wherefore no discursive differentiation can be found. However, general narrative changes can be identified throughout the material and defined time periods, starting with optimism towards economic cooperation with Russia. After the Ukraine crisis, the narrative shifted to a more apprehensive one, while still advocating for the energy imports from Russia. With Russia no longer being a reliable supplier from 2022 on, the narrative finally shifts to negative. In the later material concrete approaches to diversification are also discussed contributing to a narrative that moves away from Russia as a single energy source.

This study seeks to analyze and understand the Russian propaganda before and after the full-scale invasion of Ukraine. 15th of October 2021 to the 28th of February 2022 is the chosen research period, mainly because of the importance to get an understanding of how Kremlin used its propaganda machine to first justify the invasion and then legitimizing it after 24th of February. The study aims to shed light on how the propaganda can be understood from the perspective of the theories classical realism and authoritarian propaganda. Also, from a more general perspective to recognize what truly pervades the Russian propaganda during the period. The result reveals that the propaganda is strongly shaped by realistic beliefs regarding Russia’s national security in relation to the supposed threat coming from Kyiv and the West. It also shows that the propaganda is heavily restricted to the Russian authorities, seeing that it aims to create a reality where the western hegemony is in the wrong, while the Russian society is an idealistic alternative. Therefor the propaganda creates an image that Russia did not have any other choice than to invade Ukraine, to save it from Nazism and the presumed disastrous western civilization.

This master’s thesis offers a contribution to the ongoing debate on the utilization of social media by a world leader. It focuses on the role of president Zelensky as a political leader and his online communication in relation to the Russian invasion of Ukraine. This study investigates the role of a diplomatic practice in an online environment. An abductive content analysis is used for this research. President Zelensky’s Twitter communication is divided into the categories of Political communication, Anti-Russia discourse and Leadership communication. Tweets of president Zelensky between February 24, 2022, and February 24, 2023, have been used as an empirical material employing the Twitter advanced search. The theoretical perspectives of Diplomacy and Media Ecology are therefore utilized to create an understanding of Zelensky’s communication. The results of the study reveal that president Zelensky incorporates in his Twitter communication different diplomatic concepts that are affected by the current Media Ecology, while traditional diplomatic negotiations are only reported on through his Twitter account, other aspects of modern diplomatic practices, namely Track II Diplomacy and Public Diplomacy are highlighted throughout the tweets.

Abstract   Title: Standardization or differentiation? - A study on companies' maintenance of legitimacy in times of war.   Level: Bachelor's thesis in Business Administration. Authors: Evelina Enander Sjökvist and Nina Olsson Islani. Supervisor: Asif M Huq. Date: May 2024.   Aim: "The purpose of the study is to examine the impact of war on companies' maintenance of legitimacy. How Nordic companies operating in Russia have communicated regarding this crisis to uphold their legitimacy".   Method: A qualitative research method with an abductive approach has been chosen in the form of a document study. A content analysis will be used on documents obtained from the Retriever database or companies websites.   Results and Conclusions: The results show that companies use different strategies when it comes to crisis management of the war between Russia and Ukraine. Clear standardization and differentiation exist both between companies and industries, showing their unique strengths and standards that the companies adhere to. A central conclusion that has characterized the study from the beginning is that this concerns sensitive information.   Contributions: The study has contributed to the research area of companies maintaining legitimacy in times of war and crisis management, the study focuses on companies that have acted in the war. An additional contribution is the analysis model that has been constructed.   Suggestions for future research: A suggestion for further research is to study the full consequences of the war and the sensitivity of information over time. It would be interesting to conduct a study focusing on comparing different years in the annual reports. / Sammanfattning    Titel: Standardisering eller differentiering? - En studie om företags bibehållande av legitimitet i krigstider.    Nivå: Kandidatuppsats i företagsekonomi. Författare: Evelina Enander Sjökvist och Nina Olsson Islani. Handledare: Asif M Huq. Datum: Maj 2024.    Syfte: “Studiens syfte är att studera krigets påverkan på företagens bibehållande av legitimitet. Hur nordiska företag med verksamhet i Ryssland kommunicerat angående denna kris för att upprätthålla sin legitimitet”.   Metod: En kvalitativ forskningsmetod med en abduktiv ansats har valts i form av en dokumentstudie. En innehållsanalys kommer att användas på dokument inhämtade från databasen Retriever och företags webbsidor.        Resultat och Slutsats: Resultaten visar på att företag använder sig av olika strategier när det gäller krishantering av kriget mellan Ryssland och Ukraina. Tydlig standardisering och differentiering finns både mellan företag och branscher, som visar på deras unika styrkor och standarder som företagen förhåller sig till. En central slutsats som präglat studien från början är att detta gäller känslig information.     Bidrag: Studien har bidragit till forskningsområdet kring företags bibehållande av legitimitet i krigstider samt krishantering då studien riktar sig mot företag som agerat gentemot kriget. Ett ytterligare bidrag till framtida forskning är den analysmodell som konstruerats.     Förslag till vidare forskning: Förslag till vidare forskning är att studera krigets fullständiga konsekvenser samt informationens känslighet längre fram i tiden. Det hade varit intressant att utföra en studie där jämförelse mellan olika årtal på årsredovisningarna varit i fokus.

In this study, we examine the effect of ESG-ranking and strong financial flexibility have on Swedish firms’ stock price during the initial stage of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. This study is based on examining this theme during Russia's invasion of Ukraine with a time frame that lasts during the first half of 2022. The sample for this study is limited to the large index OMXS30 that is part of the Stockholm Stock Exchange. Moreover, in this paper five portfolios have been formed for this purpose, which are divided into high respectively low ESG ranking and high respectively low financial flexibility in comparison to the markets portfolio. The findings in this paper show that the portfolios with Swedish firms that have strong financial flexibility and low ESG-ranking outperform the market portfolio. Meanwhile the portfolios with Swedish firms that have high ESG-ranking and low financial flexibility underperform the market portfolio. In addition to this, the paper found that the Swedish firms with high ESG-ranking have a stable excess return and they are the safest option in terms of investments. While the Swedish firms with strong financial flexibility have high excess return but they are riskier.

Bakgrund: Aktiemarknaden reagerar på information och omvärldsförändringar. Prissättningen på aktiemarknaden sker utifrån investerares tro på aktierna och vid oro hos investerare reagerar aktiemarknaden ofta negativt. Investerarnas oro kan skapas av information från kriser, där krisen i sig kan speglas på aktiemarknaden men även investerarnas uppfattning om krisen kan bidra till negativa stängningkurser. Syfte: Syftet med studien är att beskriva och analysera relationen mellan globala kriser och aktiemarknaden i Sverige. Metod: För att mäta aktiemarknadens reaktion på kriser används marknadsindex OMX30, OMXSPI tillsammans med nio branschindex. Utifrån dessa har aktiemarknadens volatilitet under kriserna analyserats med hjälp av eventfönster. För att mäta investerares påverkan på aktiemarknaden och hur anpassningsbar den är har effektiva marknadshypotesen tillsammans med teorin beteendeekonomi använts. Studien har formulerat två hypoteser i syfte att analysera om statistiskt signifikant skillnad mellan aktiemarknadens stängningskurser föreligger innan och efter kriserna. Studien analyserade kriserna terrorattacken 11:e september, Finanskrisen 2008, Covid-19-pandemin och Rysslands invasion av Ukraina. Slutsatser: Studiens resultat visade aktiemarknadens volatilitet varit högre utifrån aktieindex efter samtliga kriser. Utifrån branschindex har aktiemarknadens volatilitet varit varierande efter kriserna. Alla kriser studien undersöker har synliggjorts som nedgång på aktieindex och majoriteten av branschindex. Det finns en statistiskt signifikant skillnad mellan aktiemarknadens stängningskurser innan och efter krisen för 36 av 39 marknadsindex. Studien kunde även visa att marknaden återhämtat sig olika snabbt efter kriserna och påverkats av information kring kriserna. / Background: The stock market reacts to information and changes in the environment. Pricing on the stock market takes place based on investors' faith in the shares, and when investors are worried, the stock market often reacts negatively. Investors' concerns can be created by information from crises, where the crisis itself can be reflected on the stock market, but also investors' perception of the crisis can contribute to negative closing prices. Purpose: The purpose of the studies is to describe and analyze the relationship between global crises and the stock market in Sweden. Method: To measure the stock market's reaction to crises, the market index OMX30 and OMXSPI is used together with nine industry indices. Based on these, the volatility of the stock market during the crises has been analyzed using event windows. To measure investors' influence on the stock market and how adaptable it is, the efficient market hypothesis together with the theory of behavioral finance has been used. The study has formulated two hypotheses with the aim of analyzing whether there is a statistically significant difference between the closing prices of the stock market before and after the crises. The study analyzed the crises 9/11 terrorist attack, The financial crisis, the Covid-19 pandemic and the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Conclusions: The results of the study showed that the volatility of the stock market was higher based on the stock index after all the crises. Based on the industry index, the volatility of the stock market has been variable after the crises. All the crises the study examines have been made visible as declines in stock indices and the majority of industry indices. There is a statistically significant difference between stock market closing prices before and after the crisis for 36 out of 39 market indices. The study was also able to show that the market recovered differently quickly after the crises and was influenced by information about the crises.

The exogenous shock that Russia's invasion of Ukraine entailed brought great challenges and demands for change in companies worldwide. Governing under these conditions is not easy, nor is knowing what is actually right to do. There is research on turbulent environments and exogenous shocks, divestments, and legitimacy, but research on the interaction between these is limited. In this study, we examine how companies have responded to exogenous shocks, more specifically how Swedish MNCs have acted and communicated as a result of Russia's invasion of Ukraine on February 24, 2022. The study consists of 69 Swedish MNCs that were active in Russia pre-invasion and their communications and actions as a result of this event, with data drawn from press releases, company reports, state registers and the media. The results show that many of the examined companies have acted in a similar way and divested the Russian market, albeit with varying quickness and forcefulness, thus adopting an approach consistent with what may be considered to be a legitimate strategy, with a few exceptions where the companies' actions has not been as consistent. What this means is that despite the fact that these decisions are made by the respective company management, the measures are generally in line with each other, which may be a result of pressure from both internal and external stakeholders and society at large.

This project investigates Russian nationalist organisations during the invasion of Ukraine, to study their collective identity and practises. It features an ethnography of 26 organisations, their websites and social media. Their content is coded via a semiotic framework, categorising their symbols, images, content posted and other identity tropes. It is then analysed by applying political, sociological and communication theories. The study’s background is the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine, with its dynamics of war and cultural struggle. The results are that Russian collective identities simplified their communication already by the end of March 2022, abandoning many of the tropes they initially supported, as well as their symbols, limiting themselves to attribute the label of Nazism to Ukraine and its government, avoiding the promotion of frontline volunteer activities and considering Russia’s struggle as global. Finally, most continued to evaluate the invasion of Ukraine as proceeding positively, and at the time half the organisations referred to it as special military operation.