The dark double: the American media perception of Russia as a neo-Soviet autocracy, 2008–2014

Abstract

This article combines quantitative and textual analysis of editorials in leading American newspapers devoted to Russia’s internal politics from 2008 to 2014. Despite rapprochement under President Dmitry Medvedev, the media image of Russia has been overwhelmingly negative since 2008. Negative media editorial opinions of Russia reflect fears of autocratic political systems that are represented as a dangerous mirror image of the American system. To maintain this binary, aspects of Russian politics that did not fit into the neo-Soviet autocracy narrative were ignored. An original contribution of the article is its identification of key frames used by leading American media outlets to construct a narrative about contemporary Russia as a neo-Soviet autocracy. It demonstrates that this narrative is instrumental in confirming domestic perceptions of American national identity that emphasize its association with freedom at home and leadership of the ‘free world’ abroad. As such, these findings are significant for reaffirming the importance of media framings, associated narratives, and control over them to global governance and soft power.

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