Pan-Turkism and geopolitical identity in modern Eurasia: the analysis of representations in the media

Abstract

The subject of research is quantitative and qualitative characteristics of representation of the issue of Pan-Turkism in the Mass Media. The authors study two trends of development of the Pan-Turkism ideas: on the other hand, marginalization, on the other hand - actualization, which corresponds with the periods of crises (wars, epidemics, political crises). As an alternative to separatist movements, the authors name the increase of the role of transborder cooperation in the context of Eurasian integration with the help of the Eurasian Economic Union, Shanghai Cooperation Organization, the Eurasian Economic Community, and the project of transborder regional cooperation Big Altai. The purpose of the research is to characterise the main media trends of presentation of the Pan-Turkism issue in the Mass Media. The authors demonstrate the assessment of quantitative and qualitative characteristics of media coverage of the ideas of Pan-Turkism (the dynamics of referring; the activity of media in the number of messages and mediaindex, the level, categories, genres, the most remarkable newsworthy events; the role of international social, religious, educational organizations; the position of countries, regions, public figures, government and social organizations and institutions in the media coverage of the Pan-Turkism ideas). The scientific novelty consists in the fact that the context of references to the Pan-Turkism ideas in the media, as well as the media trends in this field which are being formed, almost haven’t been studied. The main conclusions of the research are about the information agenda, formed mainly by the Russian federal Internet media, aimed at the coverage of the Pan-Turkism issues. The most active in the formation of the Pan-Turkism agenda are the Russian pro-government and pro-Armenian media. Turkey, Armenia, Syria, Azerbaijan and Nagorno-Karabakh have a negative image in the media materials in the context of Pan-Turkism. Russia, the U.S., China. Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan, as well as such political figures as Recep Erdoğan, Vladimir Putin, Ilham Aliyev and Nikol Vovayi Pashinyan are referred to in a positive context.