Malin Østevik

How to understand and deal with Russian strategic communication measures?

Russia’s use of communicative tools to promote the country’s strategic objectives in the aftermath of the 2014 crisis in Ukraine has posed a new strategic challenge to the Western policy-making community. NATO, the EU and national authorities have become increasingly aware of this new challenge, and have taken measures to reduce the negative impacts of Russian (dis)information campaigns.

The Russian Far East and Russian Security Policy in the Asia-Pacific Region

Å kommunisere en konflikt – aktører i RTs dekning av situasjonen i Ukraina i februar–mars 2014

(Fulltekstartikkel kun på norsk): This article analyses the Russian public diplomacy news organization RT’s coverage of the situation in Ukraine in February–March 2014, the period that culminated with the annexation of Crimea. It finds that enemy images were drawn of the West/USA and of Ukrainian radicals, whereas the liberal opposition and in part the new Ukrainian government were subjected to «symbolic annihilation» – that is they were not represented at all, only indirectly in depictions of the enemy image of the other actors. Locating these portrayals in the theoretical literature on «strategic narratives», the author interprets them as attempts at achieving consensus around Russia’s own perspectives on international affairs, which include the promotion of a world order in which the USA is no longer a hegemon and Russia is respected as a great power.

Demonstrasjoner og terror i Russland – hvor støtt står makten?

Kronikk: Søndag 26. mars var det i 100 byer i Russland store demonstrasjoner mot korrupsjon og maktmisbruk. Protestene ble utløst av opposisjonsfiguren Aleksej Navalnyj og hans organisasjon Fondet for anti-korrupsjon. Etter angrepet på metroen i St. Petersburg vil ønske om stabilitet sannsynligvis dominere i tiden fremover.