Constructing the state's narrative: analysis of the lithuanian strategic communication on 'twitter'

This graduation thesis examines the way the narrative of Lithuania is constructed using strategic communication on the social network ‘Twitter’. Strategic communication, defined as communication used by political actors in order to promote their agenda, has emerged as a contemporary means of soft power, as described by J. Nye. In the mediatized society, where a social network becomes the main information outlet for the common user, cyber space serves as a playground for strategic political communication. Due to the application of social networks in politics being a fairly new phenomenon, not much academic research has been carried out on this topic. This thesis attempts to fill this research gap. The thesis is composed of five parts. The first is introductory and defines the problem, purpose, tasks of the thesis while also covering the literature review. It also states the purpose of the thesis - to analyze the way the Lithuanian narrative is composed via strategic communication. The body consists of three main chapters. The first one deals with the theoretical approach. Building on constructivism, strategic communication is understood as a means of state’s storytelling which serves to promote its goals. The state’s narrative is then defined through two dimensions: the friend-foe and the past-future dimension. It is also proposed that the state’s narrative shapes the reality we live in using certain verbal cues. The second part of the body deals with the methodology of the research and outlines the steps of the empirical analysis. In it, a design for empirical study is built in order to test the theoretical assumptions. The methodological approach chosen is qualitative content analysis. The third part of the body focuses on the results of the analysis. Using content analysis, the data gathered from the official ‘Twitter’ account for Lithuanian strategic communication is coded in order to obtain the most prominent keywords, hashtags and slogans used in the state’s narrative. Subsequently, the codes are thoroughly analyzed in order to capture the essence of Lithuanian strategic communication. The results are subdivided into two time periods and then compared. Conclusions are drawn in the last part as well as indications for further research. It is concluded that the main pillars of Lithuanian state narrative are security and pursuit of freedom. Security aims tell friends and foes apart, whereas the pursuit of freedom links the past to the future of the state. The narrating is done in a blunt, often ironic manner, using emotionally-laden discourse mixed with scientific data. In order to achieve credibility and engage viewers, rhetorical figures, metaphors and commonly recognizable symbols are used which discern Lithuanian state narrative from usual diplomatic discourse