Popular Geopolitics in the Shadow of Russia: The Ukraine Conflict in Finnish and Estonian Newspaper Editorials

Abstract

Geopolitical interests and identities play an integral part in the Ukraine conflict, which for many observers has marked an end to hopes of Russia's successful integration into Western political and security structures. This article observes how Finnish and Estonian newspaper editorials reproduce and mobilise geopolitical representations and identities in their commentary on the Ukraine conflict and related articulation of national foreign policy prescriptions. The critical discourse analysis reveals that both Finland and Estonia are geopolitically positioned by the newspapers into (Western) Europe, on one hand, and into Russia's neighbourhood, on the other. Nevertheless, in dealing with the apparent fears and anxieties prompted by the latter position, the newspapers adopt highly diverging discursive strategies closely associated with the differing foreign policy orientations and histories of the two countries. Based on the analysis, we argue that studying newspapers as key agents in popular geopolitics contributes to a better understanding of the role of the newspapers in national foreign policy formation as well as in shaping political responses to the Ukraine conflict. ; Peer reviewed