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Media Framing of Terrorism in Afghanistan: A Thematic Analysis

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Thesis(1012.55 KB)

Date

2023

Authors

Supervisor

Gordon, Averill

Item type

Thesis

Degree name

Master of Communication Studies

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Publisher

Auckland University of Technology

Abstract

There is a growing interest in studying how media frame terrorism as it plays an important role in shaping the public understanding of terrorism. While numerous studies have analysed the framing of terrorist attacks across various nations, there is a lack of research examining how, in particular, Afghan mainstream media cover terrorism. This study fills this gap by examining how terrorism is framed by two prominent Afghan newspapers, Hasht-e-Subh and EtilaatRoz. The study is based on a reflexive thematic analysis of terrorism news published between January to March 2021. The investigation found that the terrorist attacks received extensive media attention, covering 82 attacks over three months. The newspapers consistently used episodic and responsibility frames in coverage of terrorist attacks. Both newspapers drew attention to terrorism as anti-state violence and the Taliban as the perpetrators. The findings also found that the newspapers relied upon authoritative sources, such as the government and security officials, for information about the type of attack, location, number of casualties, victims’ identities and the perpetrators. The reflexive thematic analysis showed how an overarching theme and four other themes in two Afghan newspapers were used to frame terrorism, based on the NATO definition. Fear emerged as an overarching theme since the newspapers consistently portrayed terrorism as a constant threat to civilians, government officials and the military and identified the Taliban as the group responsible for terrorist attacks. This created fear among Afghan people from an enemy who used various tactics, from target killing of civilians and government officials, to mass casualty bombings and skirmishing against army units. The four themes identified from the analysis were: 1. Magnitude described terrorism through types of attacks: target assassinations, armed attacks, hostage-taking, firing mortar shells and explosions. 2. Ordinariness portrayed the victims as ordinary people (civilians, government officials and the military) who were indiscriminately killed in ordinary places. 3. The presence of a known but invisible enemy identified the Taliban as the group responsible for terrorist attacks and described them as criminals, militants and a group that commits war crimes and terrorist activities. 4. Religion presented the terrorist attacks as against Islamic values. But, while the themes above were identified to be part of every terrorism news, religion was found to receive little attention in reporting terrorist attacks by the newspapers. This study used the NATO definition to identify and analyse terrorist attacks. However, the analysis of frames used by the Afghan media revealed an aspect of terrorism not included in NATO’s definition. Therefore, based on the findings, it is suggested that the definition of terrorism by NATO may need to be reconsidered to include civilians, armed government forces and government officials as targets of indiscriminate violence by non-state actors. The findings of this study are significant as they illustrate how Afghan media report terrorism and how policymakers can use this to make informed decisions. While the study is limited to two newspapers, it is useful as a baseline for future studies. It is believed that the findings will contribute to the broader topic by suggesting new directions for terrorism in Afghanistan. The findings of this study also expand the study of framing theory where it analyses its value in interpreting how terrorism is portrayed in the media.

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https://hdl.handle.net/10292/16093

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