In the Shadow of War: Irish Press Frames and Political Discourses on the Israeli-Hezbollah War (July-August 2006)

Abstract

Political developments in Lebanon have long resonated with the Irish political and public imagination, principally because of the long-standing involvement of the Irish defence forces in the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) from 1978 to 2001. When the Israeli-Hezbollah war began on 12 July 2006, the issue of Lebanon again found itself placed at the centre of political, foreign policy and media discourses. This article traces the ways in which three Irish national 'quality' newspapers {Irish Times, Irish Independent and Sunday Independent) framed the Israeli-Hezbollah war during the period from 12 July to 27 August 2006. A frame analysis was undertaken on all editorial and opinion/analysis/commentary features that displayed a significant mention of 'Lebanon' during this time period, generating a total sample size of 138 items. Four different frames were identified— the Israeli security/'War on Terror' frame, the Israeli aggression/Lebanese resistance frame, the Lebanese democracy/regional stability frame and another round of futile violence in the Middle East frame. This study also analyses the interactions that occurred between these media framing trends and the surrounding foreign policy/political discursive environment. The theoretical focus of this integrated media-political relational analysis is to assess the extent to which media and/or political factors influenced the Irish government's resultant foreign policy responses.