The role of media in society is significant, and what the media reports influences people. The agenda-setting theory suggests that the issues covered by the media become important topics in society, and through descriptions and attributes, the media can shape public opinions. Sweden's military non-alignment ended with its membership in Nato becoming a reality in 2024. Until 2012, public opinion in Sweden strongly opposed joining Nato. However, a shift occurred, and the gap between supporters and opponents narrowed. This study, through a qualitative content analysis, examined how the editorial pages of three Swedish newspapers described Swedish Nato membership from 2008 to 2015, and how the relationship between these descriptions and public opinion evolved. The results clearly show that, over time, the editorials increasingly portrayed Swedish Nato membership positively rather than negatively. There is a correlation between these descriptions and public opinion. However, it is not possible to conclude whetherthe editorials influenced public opinion or if the reverse is true.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:UPSALLA1/oai:DiVA.org:umu-227394 |
| Date | January 2024 |
| Creators | Römo Mella, Magnus |
| Publisher | Umeå universitet, Statsvetenskapliga institutionen |
| Source Sets | DiVA Archive at Upsalla University |
| Language | Swedish |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Student thesis, info:eu-repo/semantics/bachelorThesis, text |
| Format | application/pdf |
| Rights | info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccess |
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