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Between Norms and Strategy? The EU's Identity in the Age of Disinformation

Lindström, Sofia LU (2025) STVM23 20251
Department of Political Science
Abstract
This thesis explores how the European Union, through the East StratCom Task Force’s Disinformation Reviews, discursively frames Russia in its response to disinformation, and how this constructs the Union’s identity. Drawing on Thomas Diez operationalisation of Normative Power Europe as well as Strategic Narrative Theory, this study applies a critical discourse analysis of all reviews published within the year of 2024. The analysis reveals that the EU increasingly frames Russia as an existential and moral threat to European values and identity. This is done through a dominant use of rhetorical strategies, legitimacy signalling and narrative framing, often combined with irony and a satirical tone. While the EU’s self-image continues to build... (More)
This thesis explores how the European Union, through the East StratCom Task Force’s Disinformation Reviews, discursively frames Russia in its response to disinformation, and how this constructs the Union’s identity. Drawing on Thomas Diez operationalisation of Normative Power Europe as well as Strategic Narrative Theory, this study applies a critical discourse analysis of all reviews published within the year of 2024. The analysis reveals that the EU increasingly frames Russia as an existential and moral threat to European values and identity. This is done through a dominant use of rhetorical strategies, legitimacy signalling and narrative framing, often combined with irony and a satirical tone. While the EU’s self-image continues to build on a normative foundation, the discursive strategies point toward a more geopolitical and security-driven identity than what the normative power Europe assumption suggests. This study contributes to research on the EU’s strategic communication and identity construction by showing how disinformation is countered and used as a platform for reaffirming and shaping the Union’s perception of itself. (Less)
Please use this url to cite or link to this publication:
author
Lindström, Sofia LU
supervisor
organization
course
STVM23 20251
year
type
H2 - Master's Degree (Two Years)
subject
keywords
normative power, Russia, EU identity, strategic narratives, disinformation
language
English
id
9189850
date added to LUP
2025-08-08 11:38:21
date last changed
2025-08-08 11:38:21
@misc{9189850,
  abstract     = {{This thesis explores how the European Union, through the East StratCom Task Force’s Disinformation Reviews, discursively frames Russia in its response to disinformation, and how this constructs the Union’s identity. Drawing on Thomas Diez operationalisation of Normative Power Europe as well as Strategic Narrative Theory, this study applies a critical discourse analysis of all reviews published within the year of 2024. The analysis reveals that the EU increasingly frames Russia as an existential and moral threat to European values and identity. This is done through a dominant use of rhetorical strategies, legitimacy signalling and narrative framing, often combined with irony and a satirical tone. While the EU’s self-image continues to build on a normative foundation, the discursive strategies point toward a more geopolitical and security-driven identity than what the normative power Europe assumption suggests. This study contributes to research on the EU’s strategic communication and identity construction by showing how disinformation is countered and used as a platform for reaffirming and shaping the Union’s perception of itself.}},
  author       = {{Lindström, Sofia}},
  language     = {{eng}},
  note         = {{Student Paper}},
  title        = {{Between Norms and Strategy? The EU's Identity in the Age of Disinformation}},
  year         = {{2025}},
}