In an era marked by a growing number of international and regional conflicts –such as the Russo-Ukrainian War, the latest phase of the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict, numerous coups and civil wars in post-colonial states in Africa, and regional conflicts like the Red Sea crisis – it is increasingly important to understand how these conflicts are mediated through (supra)national media systems and by nationally determined networks of social media users in national contexts not directly involved in conflict. In response to this, Tripodos 58 aims to elucidate the nuanced ways in which news and social media in specific nations represent, frame, and construct conflicts that occur in other national or regional contexts outside their borders. In studying such ‘foreign conflicts’ – that is, conflicts that are extranational to those mediating them—the central role of news and social media in informing the national audience about the conflict is of key concern.
International conflicts stress-test geopolitical alliances and shape the perceptions of other nation-states as political actors. Accordingly, the nuances of how conflicts that occur outside the borders of a nation are represented, framed, and understood by its news media and netizens have significant consequences: conditioning, inter alia, geopolitical allegiances, levels of public support for the provision of aid or care to refugees, and future political outcomes. Therefore, it is becoming increasingly important to highlight the impactful role of news media and social media discourses in shaping national public opinion, influencing national policy decisions, and impacting the interpretation of ‘foreign’ conflicts globally.
While research has paid attention to this dynamic in historical conflicts, contemporary research focusing on more recent conflicts remains sparse. This gap is particularly problematic as these conflicts can be regarded as the first truly ‘digital’ conflicts, where converged media and bottom-up affordances have disrupted the traditional information flows through which conflicts were represented and understood around the world. Furthermore, digitisation and media convergence have ensured that sources of information and mis-/dis-information have become more prevalent in shaping the representation of global conflicts. For example, new media have enabled the likes of drone footage and open-source intelligence to become more salient features in social and news media discourses but have also enabled a rise in disinformation campaigns designed to manipulate public opinion on conflicts.
Tripodos 58 seeks to contribute to existing research by examining how news and social media from different nations portray and represent conflicts occurring outside of their own countries. We invite empirical and theoretical contributions that focus on both mainstream national news media and social media platforms to uncover how they condition public perceptions and discourse surrounding international, national and regional conflicts.
Topics that may be examined include, but are not limited to:
- Textual analyses of national news media reportage on foreign conflicts, focusing on framing, discursive construction and representation of combatant nations and their actions
- Analyses of narratives and frames used by the news media or social media users to represent foreign conflicts, focusing on themes of nationalism, victimisation, and demonisation of opposing national or regional actors
- The construction, legitimation and normalisation of geopolitical allegiances through the prism of foreign conflict discourses
- Analyses of social media platforms and affective publics, highlighting how users construct discourses around various international conflicts and how new media affordances have disrupted traditional perceptions of foreign conflicts
- Sentiment analyses, emotional analyses or networked agenda-setting analyses of large bodies of news or social media data related to foreign conflicts
- Case studies of astroturfing, misinformation, and/or disinformation campaigns designed to curtail public deliberation and perception of conflicts between different nations or (para)militant groups
- Audience and media effects research that highlights the impact of media representations of foreign conflicts on public opinion, policy-making and political interventions
- Examinations of how advancements in technology and digital media have transformed the reporting and reception of international conflicts
- Critical discussions on the ethical and normative challenges faced by journalists and media outlets when reporting on foreign conflicts, including issues of bias, propaganda, and journalistic responsibility, as well as those focusing on the ethics of citizen journalism in this regard
Contributors are encouraged to employ a variety of methodological approaches and theoretical frameworks. Given the special issue’s remit, interdisciplinary works that synthesise aspects of media studies, conflict studies, international relations, and other cognate disciplines are particularly welcome.
*Informal enquiries about the special issue can be sent to the corresponding guest editor, Dr Stephen Goulding at stephen.goulding@nottingham.edu.cn
Articles submissions
Papers should be sent by March 31st, 2025. Rules and instructions regarding the submission of originals can be consulted at https://tripodos.com/index.php/Facultat_Comunicacio_Blanquerna/about/submissions.
For any queries, please contact the editorial team at redaccio_tripodos@blanquerna.url.edu. The issue will be entirely in English.
Deadline for articles: March 31st, 2025
Expected publication: Autumn 2025
Guest editors:
-Dr Stephen Goulding
-Dr Amy McCroy
-Dr Zixiu Liu