Framing “self” and “other”: An international competition over the presentation of the YPJ by the American and Russian media

Abstract

Since the emergence of Islamic State of Iraq and Al-Sham (ISIS), the Women’s Protection Units (YPJ), a female unit of the People’s Protection Units (YPG), were accepted as an ally mainly for the United States, and to some extent, for Russia in fighting ISIS. This article analyses competition over representing YPJ within the framework of the “Self” and “Other” by Voice of America and Sputnik International as public diplomacy tools for the American and Russian governments. It examines news contents by coding statements that reflect these categories at the paragraph level. The article argues that political proximity is a key determinant in explaining international framing competition over YPJ in the context of “Self” and “Other” by those media outlets since it is associated with national interests and foreign policy priorities of the United States and Russia in Syria, particularly against ISIS. It further contends that Sputnik exhibits a perceived ideological proximity to the YPJ, shaping its framing and intensifying its competition with Voice of America due to ideological affinities between Russia and the YPJ-YPG.