"Battle of narratives" in Ukraine's modern media space
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.17721/APULTP.2022.44.86-117Keywords:
strategic communications, strategic narrative, narrative variability, counter-narrative and its asymmetric structure, battle of narratives.Abstract
The paper explores strategic communications in Ukraine's media space. Strategic communications as a system of multi-vector interaction with society have proven to be connected with a range of relevant and socially important issues, acting as the most effective technology in building the information defence amid intense hybrid aggression and ensuring the country's cognitive resilience. Typical anti-Ukrainian narratives undermine the main political reference points and affect the society's cognitive stability. The analysis of narrative realizations confirms that anti-Ukrainian narratives belong to post-truth. These narratives reflect the chaotization of world image: irrationality, emotionality, evaluation, expressiveness, and persuasiveness replace objectivity and rationality. The study determines the main features of strategic narratives and establishes the grand narrative in the strategic communications system. The paper claims a "battle of narratives" representing a struggle of different behavioural models exists in Ukraine's media space. All anti-Ukrainian narratives undermine the central Ukrainian narrative (or grand narrative), the identity narrative, while the majority of pro-Ukrainian narratives promote the idea of the Ukrainian people as a nation. An effective strategic narrative inevitably engenders a counter-narrative that aims at deconstructing or delegitimizing the previous narrative's (or its variants') effect on the target audience. A counter-narrative creation mechanism does not entail symmetry; its objective is to reprogram the call to action and block the recipients' motivational potential.
References
Barovsʹka, A. (2016). Strategic communications as a mechanism to counter Russian propaganda: NATO's experience [Stratehichni komunikatsiyi yak mekhanizm protydiyi rosiysʹkiy propahandi: dosvid NATO]. Informatsiyni vyklyky hibrydnoyi viyny: kontent, kanaly, mekhanizmy protydiyi : analytical report / A. Barovsʹka (Ed.). Kyiv : NISD, 69-81 [in Ukrainian].
Bondarenko, S. (2017). Information direction of political protection of national interests of the state [Informatsiynyy napryam politychnoho zakhystʹu natsionalʹnykh interesiv derzhavy]: dissertation for the degree of PhD in Political Science [in Ukrainian].
Bogdanov, S. (2019). Issues of Formation of the BRICS Strategic Narrative [Problemy formirovaniya strategicheskogo narrativa BRIKS]. Vestnik mezhdunarodnykh organizatsiy, 14(2), 173-190 [in Russian].
Vermenych, Y. (2013) Local and regional levels of the national narrative [Lokalʹno-rehionalʹni rivni vitchykhnyanoho naratyvu]. Ukrayinsʹkyy istorychnyy zhurnal, 5, 4-23 [in Ukrainian].
Horbulin, V. (2014). "Hybrid warfare" as a key tool of Russia's geostrategy of revenge ["Hibrydna viina" yak kliuchovyi instrument rosiiskoi heostratehii revanshu]. Stratehichni priorytety, 4 (33), 5-12 [in Ukrainian].
Davydyuk, M. (2016). How Putin's propaganda works [Yak pratsiuie putinska propahanda]. Kyiv: Smoloskyp [in Ukrainian].
Dynamics of Russian narratives about Ukraine and their export to the Ukrainian media space (2021) [Dynamika rosiiskykh naratyviv pro Ukrainu ta yikh eksport v ukrainskyi mediaprostir]. URL: https://drive.google.com/file/d/15S3n--3ZgyPTHanoCLBUq9XuUN4BebtN/view (last access: 01.05.2022) [in Ukrainian].
Discrediting Biden and "Ukraine is to blame for the war". Anti-Western and pro-Russian narratives in Ukrainian online media in 2020-2021(2021) [Dyskredytatsiia Baidena ta "Ukraina vynna u viini". Antyzakhidni ta prorosiistki naratyvy v ukrainskykh onlain-media u 2020-2021 rokakh]. URL: https://imi.org.ua/monitorings/dyskredytatsiya-bajdena-ta-ukrayina-vynna-u-vijni-antyzahidni-ta-prorosijski-naratyvy-v-ukrayinskyh-i39592 (last access: 01.05.2022) [in Ukrainian].
Doctrine of strategic communications [Doktryna zi stratehichnykh komunikatsii]. Training and Research Center for Strategic Communications in the field of national security and defense. URL: https://stratcom.nuou.org.ua/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/Доктрина-зі-стратегічних-комунікацій.pdf (last access: 01.05.2022) [in Ukrainian].
Dubov, D. (2016). Strategic communications: problems of conceptualization and practical implementation [Stratehichni komunikatsii: problemy kontseptualizatsii ta praktychnoi realizatsii]. Stratehichni priorytety. Seriia : Polityka, 4, 9-23 [in Ukrainian].
Communication strategy of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine [Komunikatsiina stratehiia Ministerstva zakordonnykh sprav Ukrainy.]. URL: https://mfa.gov.ua/storage/app/sites/1/%D0%A1%D1%82%D1%80%D0%B0%D1%82%D0%B5%D0%B3%D1%96%D1%97/communication-strategy.pdf (last access: 01.05.2022) [in Ukrainian].
Lebon, H. (2000). Psychology of peoples and the masses. [Psykholohyia narodov y mass]. Minsk : Harvest [in Russian].
Makintair, L. (2021). Post-Truth [Postpravda]. Kyiv : ArtHuss [in Ukrainian].
Plokhii, S. (2013). What kind of history does modern Ukraine need? [Yakoi istorii potrebuie suchasna Ukraina?]. Ukrainskyi istorychnyi zhurnal, 3, 4-12 [in Ukrainian].
Pokalchuk, O. (2021). Burning "granary of Europe": causes, development and consequences of the Russian information war in Ukraine.[Palaiucha "zhytnytsia Yevropy": prychyny, rozvytok ta naslidky rosiiskoi informatsiinoi viiny v Ukraini]. Stratehichni komunikatsii v umovakh hibrydnoi viiny: pohliad vid volontera do naukovtsia. Kyiv, 166-189 [in Ukrainian].
Pocheptsov, H. Post-truth as a new stage in the development of civilization. [Postpravda kak novyy vytok razvytyia tsyvylyzatsyy]. URL: https://ms.detector.media/mediaanalitika/post/22902/2019-05-19-postpravda-kak-novyi-vitok-razvitiya-tsivilizatsii/ (last access: 01.05.2022) [in Ukrainian].
Pocheptsov, H. (2017). From Pokémon to Hybrid Warfare: New Communication Technologies of the 21st Century [Vid pokemoniv do hibrydnykh viin: novi komunikatyvni tekhnolohii ХХI stolittia]. Kyiv : Vydavnychyi dim "Kyievo-Mohylianska akademiia", 257 [in Ukrainian].
Pocheptsov, H. Strategic Communications in the Conditions of Information Confrontation [Stratehycheskye kommunykatsyy v uslovyiakh ynformatsyonnoho protyvoborstva]. URL: https://psyfactor.org/psyops/infowar39.htm (last access: 01.05.2022) [in Ukrainian].
Pocheptsov, H. (2008). Strategic communications: strategic communications in politics, business and public administration [Stratehycheskye kommunykatsyy: stratehycheskye kommunykatsyy v polytyke, byznese y hosudarstvennom upravlenyy]. Kyiv : Alterpres, 216 [in Russian].
Snytko, O. (2020). Strategic narratives in the system of mechanisms for counteracting information influences [Stratehichni naratyvy u systemi mekhanizmiv protydii informatsiinym vplyvam]. Aktualni problemy ukrainskoi linhvistyky: teoriia i praktyka, 40, 99-118. https://doi.org/10.17721/APULTP.2020.40.99-118 [in Ukrainian].
"Strategic Narrative": to the problem of realization of the essential component of strategic communications in Ukraine (2016) ["Stratehichnyi naratyv": do problemy realizatsii sutnisnoi skladovoi stratehichnykh komunikatsii v Ukraini"]. Analitychna zapyska. URL: https://niss.gov.ua/doslidzhennya/informaciyni-strategii/strategichniy-narativ-do-problemi-realizacii-sutnisnoi#:~:text=%D0%A1%D1%82%D1%80%D0%B0%D1%82%D0 (last access: 01.05.2022) [in Ukrainian].
Yavorska, H. (2021). Dynamics of narratives (to the problem of cognitive resistance of media space) [Dynamika naratyviv (do problemy kohnityvnoi opirnosti mediinoho prostoru)]. Stratehichni komunikatsii v umovakh hibrydnoi viiny: pohliad vid volontera do naukovtsia. Kyiv, 26-38 [in Ukrainian].
How strategic communications help Ukraine to establish international cooperation in combating hostile disinformation, (2021). [Yak stratehichni komunikatsii dopomahaiut Ukraini nalahodyty mizhnarodnu spivpratsiu z protydii vorozhii dezinformatsii]. URL: https://armyinform.com.ua/2021/12/09/yak-strategichni-komunikacziyi-dopomagayut-ukrayini-nalagodyty-mizhnarodnu-spivpraczyu-z-protydiyi-vorozhij-dezinformacziyi/ (last access: 01.05.2022) [in Ukrainian].
