Viruses, vaccines, and power : Russia's strategic use of information in the COVID-19 crisis

At the beginning of 2020, humanity faced a new global enemy: the coronavirus (COVID-19). While some countries viewed vaccine development solely as a means to improve public health, others saw it as an opportunity to advance their political agenda. One method used to accomplish these goals during the pandemic was by exercising sharp power, which involves intentionally disrupting the political and information environments of other countries. This thesis seeks to explore how Russia has used sharp power to advance its interests during the coronavirus pandemic. This research explores the strategic use of information by state-sponsored media outlet, Russia Today (RT), and examines how Russia employed its vaccine diplomacy and vaccine-related discourse as a means of exerting its influence and achieving its strategic goals., Fairclough’s model of Critical Discourse Analysis (CDA) accompanied by Van Dijk’s Ideological Square were chosen as a method to investigate Russia Today's coverage of the Sputnik V vaccine. Twenty-one Russia Today articles were analysed to identify key discourses, discursive frameworks, and underlying ideology. The research showed that RT had used two main discourses, which can be seen as a part of Russian sharp power tools: Russian Superiority and Critique of the West. To create these discourses RT used various discursive frameworks, such as different rhetorical devices and tropes, propaganda techniques and discursive strategies. The findings contribute to an understanding of the mechanisms of sharp power and their potential consequences. Additionally, the results of the analysis suggest ways of identifying and counteracting sharp power, which is crucial knowledge for the future safety of international relations. The research also underlines the necessity for democratic institutions to differentiate between soft and sharp power in their foreign policy strategies.