Antinuclear movements in the U.S. and Kazakhstan: A cross-cultural analysis of mass communication patterns

Communication processes between citizens and institutions differ according to the culture, politics, and economies in different societies. However, under certain circumstances, communication patterns may share common elements across cultures, especially if a social issue has cross-national characteristics. This study aims to analyze cross-cultural variations in anti-nuclear protests that emerged in Kazakhstan in 1989 and were continuing in the U.S. that year. Based on the theory of political opportunity, this critical discourse analysis illustrates what sorts of approaches activists used to promote their resistance to nuclear testing. The nature of activists’ antinuclear arguments, their choice of communication tools, and local news coverage in the protest areas provide an understanding of how protesters prioritized their objectives to accomplish their final goal: a Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty to guarantee a stop to nuclear testing at the Nuclear Test Site in Nevada and Semipalatinsk in the Kazakh Soviet Social Republic (Kazakhstan)