Narrating Security: Multimodal Representation of NATO and the Nordic Evolving Geopolitical Landscape

Lundgren-Henriksson, Eva-Lena; Heikkinen, Suvi

Abstract

This study explores how NATO as an international defence alliance is portrayed, communicated, and interpreted with regards to Finland’s and Sweden’s NATO memberships. The recent decision to join NATO marks a significant shift in Finland’s security policy, with broad implications for regional and global security dynamics. Particularly Finnish public media was chosen due to Finland’s unique geopolitical position and long-standing commitment to neutrality. In this study, we examine how public media discourse reflects such changing historical contexts and shapes the representations and possibly interpretation of security and NATO’s – as an international defence organization – role in it. To analyse the Finnish security debate within a new geo-ethics-political context, we combine a critical discursive and narrative approach and focus on the multimodal representation of security. We identify four antenarratives: distancing, objectifying, spatializing, and embodying. We argue that these antenarratives give rise to two grand narratives – imperialist and idealist.

Primary Track

Critical Management Studies

Menu

Narrating Security: Multimodal Representation of NATO and the Nordic Evolving Geopolitical Landscape

Abstract

Primary Track