Transformation of Narrative Representation of Russia among Youth in West Africa

Western mainstream media narratives about Russia affect the perception of youth in West Africa regarding Russia as a global role player. The research is based on a synthesis and integration of scholarly studies, as well as newspapers and reports from selected Western media outlets. A broad literature review was first conducted to understand the body of knowledge on Western media narratives and their effects on people’s perceptions of Russia. A narrative matrix was used as the main approach to map out the narratives about Russia, and thematic analysis was finally employed to identify the themes and sub-themes from the media narratives to examine how these narratives affect youth perceptions of Russia as a global player. The study identifies three competing narratives: the first is the dominant narrative in Western media, which describes Russia negatively in terms of its imperial interests. The second is the counter-narrative from several scholars, global South media outlets, dissenting politicians, and individuals who assert that NATO’s expansion to the east threatens Russia’s security and is the cause of the recent geopolitical crisis. The last is the alternative narrative, which assumes that Africans see Russia as a potential ally for mutually beneficial cooperation, despite the recent geopolitical crisis. The article concludes that the counter and alternative narratives have been marginalized and overshadowed by the dominant narratives propagated by Western media, which tend to shape youth perceptions of Russia as a negative global player, especially regarding narratives about the crisis in Ukraine.