Syrian Kurds amid Violence : Depictions of Mass Violence against Syrian Kurdistan in Kurdish Media, 2014–2019

Abstract: This thesis investigates depictions in the Kurdish media (Rudaw and Firat News Agency (ANF)) of mass violence perpetrated against Kurdish civilians in northern and northeastern Syria – an area known to Kurds as Rojava – in recent years. Articles from two media organizations were subject to mixed-method text analysis (quantitative and qualitative) to uncover how mass violence was portrayed. The theory of framing in the media is used to show how violence is committed and what role ideology plays in this process. It is subsequently used in order to uncover commonly used frames for the roles played by various actors involved in mass violence. Hence, a comparison is made between the contents of the two media institutions. The results primarily relate to the role of ideology in the coverage of mass violence by the selected Kurdish media outlets, which are affiliated with two major Kurdish political parties, one left-leaning and one right-leaning. Findings revealed different aspects of mass violence, governed principally by nationalist and partisan orientations. Nationalist agendas played a significant role in Rudaw’s content and a smaller one in ANF’s. Partisan agendas had roughly the same magnitude in both, and the two outlets clashed politically but met nationalistically in many areas. The research questions were addressed through a content analysis of tens of stories disseminated by both Kurdish media organizations during the same time-space.