Gaining Social Power In a Time of Conflict : A case study on how the two superpowers China and the US are using security branding on Twitter to gain social power during an ongoing war.

Abstract: How are the two superpowers of the world using Twitter as a platform for gathering global support for their policies when tweeting about an ongoing international conflict? That is the question that is answered in this thesis through a small-N case study. A mixed-method content analysis, based on security branding and generic framing, was applied to the data to determine how security branding is used by the actors to acquire social power. The findings suggest that China is using the situation to throw mud at, and question the morality of, the US and its behavior in international relations. The US is tweeting on a broader spectrum of topics. These topics include how the US and its allies and partners have supported Ukraine and taken action to weaken Russia. Another vital topic found is that the US uses Twitter to display its disagreement with the actions taken by Russia and Vladimir Putin in Ukraine.