FRAMES IN DIPLOMATIC LANGUAGE: RESPONDING TO CRISIS, CONFLICT, AND COUNTERTERRORISM IN SYRIA BETWEEN 2011 AND 2015

Frames have a direct influence on state actors’ decisions and responses toward political issues. Existing studies of framings concentrate on media and mass communication. Yet, the role of frames, generated by state actors, to solve political issues is absent in these studies. The case of Syria is used to explain how state actors rely on frames to interpret and reorient events to serve their policy options. This thesis traces these frames through a narrative analysis to explore the importance of framing in real-world events and diplomatic interactions. The study reveals that “crisis” and “conflict” frames were used by the international community to legitimize foreign state actors’ involvement in a third country. The later framing shift to “counterterrorism” re-imposed the regime’s earlier frame and diverted attention from helping the people of Syria to activate the war on terrorism. However, these frames shaped and influenced the collective responses, decisions, and priorities toward the case of Syria. This study shows that frame-tracing could be applied to other political situations such as Russia-Ukraine to analyze actors’ motives and responses. Thus, this study encourages researchers to expand the application of framing theory to foreign policy practices in international affairs