Coverage of Taliban’s takeover of Afghanistan in the international press: A perspective on indexing theory

Abstract

This article tests the key arguments of indexing theory by analysing how the press of seven countries reported Taliban’s takeover of Afghanistan in 2021. The seven countries represent a mix of democratic (US, UK, India and Pakistan) and authoritarian governments (Russia, China and Iran). In a marked similarity, we found that press of the two types of political systems mainly supported their governments’ policy towards the Taliban. Though the democratic press showed some critical coverage, it was of tactical nature. Moreover, most political and security events in Afghanistan were reported in neutral way, suggesting the democratic press compromised on their critical agenda to hold their governments responsible for their actions. In terms of news sources, the press of US and UK involved more foreign sources as compared to other countries. The findings suggest the security nature of events is an important determinant of whether official indexing will prevail or confronted in press coverage of international conflicts.