The Roles and Functions of Computational Propaganda in the International Struggle for Discursive Power: The Case of Russia in the Russia-Ukraine Conflict

Abstract

The fight for discursive power is an important strategic goal in today’s international competition. In the process of discursive power struggle, computational propaganda has been widely used as an emerging covert means of discursive power struggle. This paper starts from the perspective of discursive power struggle, and selects a representative typical case of Russia in the Russia-Ukraine conflict to study computational propaganda in the struggle for discursive power. This paper summarizes the conceptual mechanism of computational propaganda and its relationship with the struggle for discursive power in the light of the theory of discursive power, and focuses on the analysis of Russia’s computational propaganda practice in the Russia-Ukraine conflict and the risks and dilemmas it faces.