Air War College / Leadership Institute

Chinese president Xi Jinping has advanced the “China Dream as a strategic narrative framing of China’s
current and future geopolitical role. As a policy slogan, it provides unique insight in understanding the function of
Chinese media in developing a discursive geopolitical framework for China. This study analyzed 885 articles from 19
Chinese news sites to determine how the China Dream was framed and its implications for the formation of foreign
policy in China. Analysis revealed four primary dimensions to the China Dream: economic development, a return to
strength, cultural prestige, and support of CCP ideology. Those components were used differentially in the
construction of two predominant narrative trajectories for the China Dream: one domestic and one international. These
narratives had three outcomes: 1) an alternative to a U.S. led world order, 2) the argument for a peaceful Chinese rise,
and 3) the longevity of the Chinese Communist Party.

National media narratives often embody "strategic narratives" that embody national consensus on geopolitics. The 2016 U.S. presidential election was an event of intense international interest, both for its internal drama, but also for the policy positions of both of the major candidates. This paper presents a comparative analysis of how media in four key regions covered the U.S. presidential election and its immediate aftermath. Researchers utilized an innovative technology that allowed the teams to harvest media content, from almost seventy-five global news sources, in Arabic, Farsi, Chinese, and Russian. This paper utilized the theoretical construct of strategic narratives to demonstrate how the U.S. election is incorporated into narrative constructions of global order. Theoretically, this project seeks to deepen our understanding, from a comparative methodology, of how "events," such as the U.S. presidential election, provide the raw material for global contestations of the global order. The essay also provides a mechanism for analyzing and evaluating these narratives using Fisher's narrative paradigm. Finally, the paper demonstrates an innovative methodological approach to comparative analysis from disparate cultural and news traditions, languages, and patterns of access to media.

This study examines the strategic narratives embedded in Russia broadcast and news media to determine how the country advances a narrative framework portraying the Kremlin's world view as propagated through Russian media. We argue these narratives help construct Russian identity in building domestic cohesion while fending off criticisms by Western nations. The study furthers our theoretical understanding of public diplomacy and global narratives by drawing from the work of rhetoricians and IR scholars in addressing how domestic and international narratives become tied together for strategic purposes and their reception by local actors. We analyzed 1016 broadcast and online news segments from 17 different sources representing governmental and official news sites, oppositional sites, and independent news sources. Two studies were conducted focusing on one particular 'contour' of the Russian worldview: Russian multilateral engagement through BRICS, SCO, and Iranian nuclear negotiations as well as media portrayals of NATO. The study concludes by discussing strategies for effective messaging. ARTICLE HISTORY Russia is in the midst of an identity crisis (Lukyanov, 2016). As Mankoff (2012) explains, since the collapse of Communism, Russia has 'endured a confusing, often tortuous process of self-definition' battling over whether it is a European, Eurasian, or a Slavic nation (11). This search for identity is felt in foreign affairs with the resurgence of aggressive actions by the Russian Federation causing concern globally, from its conflict in Georgia, to the takeover of the Crimea, and recent meddling in U.S. elections. While political leaders and policy-makers might vary in their interpretation of this newly aggressive posture, these actions appear to be an attempt to reinvigorate Russian national strength and reestablish the nation as a 'global player,' with the military, economic, and political clout to matter on the world stage. But just as concerning are the emerging geopolitical narratives that seem to be guiding Russian policy, and the accompanying rhetoric toward, and about, the West. As Tsygankov (2016) argues, Russian foreign policy and national interest can best be understood within the context of the country's relations with the West; especially, how domestic identity