Analysis: Norwegian newspaper's coverage of the war in Caucasus 2008

As a part of my master studies in “Media, Communication and ICT” at NTNU, I did an analysis of the Norwegian newspaper coverage of the war in Caucasus. The analysis shows how the two major Norwegian newspapers (Aftenposten and Verdens Gang) framed the war, and how loyalty to the Governments foreign policy can be found in their largely one sided pro-western coverage of the conflict. It also shows that both the opposition (conservatives) and the government (social democratic) for a large part agree about Norwegian foreign policy. The politicians didn’t seem to pay much attention to the war and the possible consequences for Norway as a result of Russia’s new aggressive modus operandi. This can be portrayed as either political indifference among Norwegian politicians, or as a consensus between the Norwegian Government, the opposition and the media, where to show restraint in critizising Russia is imperative for national security. The news media might, as a result of this, seem to under-communicate Norway’s challenges in the northern areas regarding a weak defence, NATO’s unwillingness to confront Russia in the Caucasus; signalling a division in the alliance indicating less commitment to NATO Article 5 in the case of a potential Russian threat in the race for the Arctic oil and gas.

Download and read “A Cold War in the Caucasus?” as a PDF. Language: Norwegian. Grade: A.