Framing of Terrorist Threats in United States and Russian Elections, 2003-2004

<p>Abstract copyright UK Data Service and data collection copyright owner.</p>This Economic and Social Research Council New Security Challenges small grant project examined the framing of terrorist threats in Russian elections (2003 Duma and 2004 presidential) and the United States (US) presidential election in 2004. The project examined coverage of the nightly news during the campaigns, messages from political parties and candidates as well as audience reaction in focus groups in each country. Ten focus groups were held in Russia in the spring of 2004 in Moscow and Ulyanovsk. They were conducted and transcribed in Russian. There were an average of eight participants in each group, which were divided by age. Eleven focus groups were held in the US, which were conducted and transcribed in English. They were held in Missouri (Columbia), Florida (Cleremont, Gainesville and St. Petersburg) and the Washington DC area. The groups had an average of 10 participants and were divided into student, adult and senior citizen groups. The groups in both countries discussed media use, the coverage of terrorism in the mass media and the role that security concerns (including terrorism) played in their vote choice in the elections. In the US groups, some political advertisments from the John Kerry and George W. Bush general campaign were used to cue the discussion. Across the groups in both countries, anger and fear were expressed about terrorism. In the Russian groups, there was an acceptance of a government response that targeted Chechens in an attempt to control domestic terrorism. While the Russian participants did not make many overt links between terrorism and their vote choice, the notion of a strong president was very important to them. In the US, the doubt and confusion about the value of strength were clearer, yet it was also clear that, like the Russians, this notion of strength was a very important factor in picking Bush over Kerry in the close 2004 US election