Non-Western Narratives with Western Tones: Strategic Framing of the Syrian Civil War for Selling the New Model of Governance

Demir T.

Exploratory Symposia of European International Studies Association, Rapallo, Italy, Piacenza, İtalya, 5 - 08 Kasım 2023

  • Yayın Türü: Bildiri / Özet Bildiri
  • Basıldığı Şehir: Piacenza
  • Basıldığı Ülke: İtalya
  • Recep Tayyip Erdoğan Üniversitesi Adresli: Evet

Özet

Abstract

This paper analyzes the mobilizing narratives created by the Democratic Union Party (PYD), the Syrian affiliate of the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) to sell its model of governance to the Western countries as part of their lobbying efforts through non-western narratives with Western tones. This analysis has been based on Benford and Snow’s (2000) concepts, frame amplification and frame extension. The paper argues that by considering the policy priorities and expectations of the Western countries as well as the significant developments since the beginning of the Syrian civil war such as the rise of ISIS and interaction with the Western countries in the context of the US-led global coalition, the PYD administration created some narratives to increase the visibility of their model of governance and receive political support from these countries. Particularly, “a regional role model” and “defending human values” narratives have included amplification and extension approaches with Western tones while interacting with the Western Powers, particularly with the United States and United Kingdom.

Key words: Frame Amplification, Frame Extension, Democratic Union Party (PYD), Syrian Civil War, Lobbying