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Milbloggers, Telegram, and the Russo-Ukraine war : The Role of Non-State Actors in Shaping Strategic Narratives during Global Conflicts

Strategic narratives are vital for states to frame issues, goals, and preferences to convey a rationale for military actions in global conflicts. Russia’s warfare in Ukraine, coupled with the rise of Telegram as an independent information platform, has fostered the rise of military bloggers within the Kremlin-controlled media ecosystem. This thesis explores the role and functioning of these military bloggers in shaping strategic narratives during the Russo-Ukraine war. To do so, the thesis compares three critical junctures in the war as case studies using a mixed-methods approach. The thesis has found that milblogs operate within a pre-determined strategic narrative framework outlined by the Kremlin. The findings further indicate that while operating within this frame, the Telegram operators have the capacity to shape strategic narratives and, at times, are the driving force behind the official narrative production. The study provides new insights into the Russian information environment by shedding light on the milbloggers' roles as legitimators, amplifiers, and, at times, opposition. While de-monopolizing the information environment to include milbloggers has served the Kremlin well so far in the war, giving up power might pose severe problems for the Kremlin in the future, potentially impacting the outcome of the war in the long run.

Identiferoai:union.ndltd.org:UPSALLA1/oai:DiVA.org:mau-68542
Date January 2024
CreatorsRichter, Johan
PublisherMalmö universitet, Institutionen för globala politiska studier (GPS)
Source SetsDiVA Archive at Upsalla University
LanguageEnglish
Detected LanguageEnglish
TypeStudent thesis, info:eu-repo/semantics/bachelorThesis, text
Formatapplication/pdf
Rightsinfo:eu-repo/semantics/openAccess

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