Framing “self” and “other”: An international competition over the presentation of the YPJ by the American and Russian media
JOURNAL OF ASIAN AND AFRICAN STUDIES, vol.0, no.0, pp.1-29, 2026 (SSCI, Scopus)
- Publication Type: Article / Article
- Volume: 0 Issue: 0
- Publication Date: 2026
- Doi Number: 10.1177/00219096261455570
- Journal Name: JOURNAL OF ASIAN AND AFRICAN STUDIES
- Journal Indexes: Academic Search Ultimate (EBSCO), Social Science Premium Collection (ProQuest), Scopus, Social Sciences Citation Index (SSCI), IBZ Online, Periodicals Index Online, American History and Life, Anthropological Literature, ATLA Religion Database, Geobase, Historical Abstracts, Index Islamicus, MLA - Modern Language Association Database, Political Science Complete, Public Affairs Index, Political Science Abstract (IPSA), MLA International Bibliography
- Page Numbers: pp.1-29
- Open Archive Collection: AVESIS Open Access Collection
- Recep Tayyip Erdoğan University Affiliated: Yes
Abstract
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.
Keywords
self and other, international framing competition, Voice of America, Sputnik, YPJ