Western Media Narratives: How Bias Shapes Global Power Dynamics and Perpetuates Hegemony

Table of contents

  1. Introduction

  2. Western Media and the ‘Othering’ of Non-Western Nations.

  3. Media Framing and Bias: Tools of Narrative Control

  4. Soft Power: How Western Media Shapes Global Perceptions

  5. Case Studies: Western Media’s Construction of Non-Western Nations

    1. Framing of Ukraine vs. Syrian Refugees

    2. Underdevelopment and Humanitarian Narratives

    3. China as a Threat.

  6. Reclaiming Narratives: Transcultural Approaches to Global Media

  7. Conclusion

  8. References

Introduction

Media platforms have become our constant companions; we are no longer shaped solely by our environment but rather have a multitude of influences at our fingertips. These influences have a significant impact on our perceptions and opinions. Western media plays a central role in constructing and reinforcing narratives that position non-Western nations as underdeveloped, unstable, or threatening. These representations serve to perpetuate global hierarchies, legitimizing Western influence and intervention.

This paper examines how Western media narratives maintain Western superiority and perpetuate geopolitical inequalities. Using Dipesh Chakrabarty’s Provincializing Europe and theories of geographies of power and media discourse, this paper will examine the lasting impact of these narratives on global power dynamics. Moreover, it will highlight the mechanisms by which Western media maintain Western hegemony and justify political, military and economic interventions by analysing contemporary examples such as humanitarian interventions, coverage of conflicts, particularly in the Middle East and on the African continent, and the portrayal of China as a global threat. The research question to be discussed in this paper is the following: “How does Western media construct narratives of underdevelopment, instability or threat around non-Western nations, and what are the implications of these representations of global power dynamics?”

Western Media and the ‘Othering’ of Non-Western Nations

In order to analyse how the 'West' has positioned itself at the forefront of global power dynamics, it is crucial to examine its historical role in shaping narratives about non-Western nations. Imperialism and Colonialism established the ‘West’ as the centre of modernity and rationality, portraying non-Western societies as backward, uncivilised or even barbaric - justifying intervention in the name of aid and progress. Edward Said’s concept of ‘Orientalism’ examines how the West constructed a sense of 'othering', by presenting entire cultures as static and unchanging. (Said, 1978)

This is also reflected in the media discourse, where non-Western cultures are often portrayed in simplistic, static, conflict and hardship-driven narratives (Lugo-Ocando & Nguyen, 2016). Dipesh Chakrabarty (2000) points out, 'political modernity', with concepts - such as democracy, citizenship and human rights, “found its climatic form in the course of the European Enlightenment and the nineteenth century" (page 4). However, he criticises that "the nineteenth-century European coloniser both preached this Enlightenment humanism [...] and at the same time denied it in practice" (page 4). (Chakrabarty, Dipesh, page 4) Similarly, Tunisian philosopher and historian Hichem Djait accuses imperialist Europe of "denying its own vision of man" (Chakrabarty, 2016, page 5) by setting goals, visions and standards for mankind, but limiting these aspirations to Western nations and their people.

During colonialism, such ‘othering’ was mainly created throughout Europe by so-called travellers' ‘journals’, which portrayed non-Western nations, cultures and people through a Eurocentric, disortet and even racist lens. (Allimadi, 2021) Even after decolonization, postcolonial states continued to be depicted as sites of instability, reinforcing their perceived dependence on Western governance and aid. During the Cold War, the binaries of democracy versus authoritarianism, communism versus capitalism, were reinforced, shaping how Western media portrayed global conflicts. Hobson (2012) argues that "manifest Eurocentrism took on a subliminal form during the era of decolonisation and the Cold War" (Page 10). He argues that explicit imperialistic rhetoric declined, Eurocentrism took on a subliminal form. For example, “explicit talk of 'civilisation versus barbarism' is largely dropped in favour of its equivalent 'sanitised' terms: 'modernity versus tradition'" (Page 10). He argues that, therefore, Western economic and political intervention were still framed as natural and necessary. (Hobson, 2012)

Media Framing and Bias: Tools of Narrative Control

In times of crisis, news outlets face the difficult task of informing the public as objectively and accurately as possible. This is not an easy task as there are a multitude of events, actors and perspectives to be presented. In the process, news coverage can be distorted by two main categories of decisions made by newsmakers: which events to cover and how to cover them (Groeling, 2013).

We refer to systematically biased decisions in these areas as selection bias and narrative bias. First, “selection bias refers to the tendency of a news outlet to choose certain events to cover while ignoring others” (Galleazzi et al., 2024). For example, a news outlet may focus on negative events related to a particular faith while neglecting positive events, thus showing a selection bias towards negative coverage. The second form of bias is the so called narrative bias, “which refers to the way in which news events are framed and reported, potentially influencing the reader's perception and interpretation of the events themselves. Together, these two forms of bias can significantly shape the way news is consumed and understood by the public” (Galleazzi et al., 2024).

These mechanisms are significant because they create bias in global news coverage and are often used to influence public opinion, although news organisations should aim to avoid these biases as best they can in order to present an objective portrayal and inform the public in times of crisis.

Soft Power: How Western Media Shapes Global Perceptions

In the past, countries manifested their power through population, territory, natural resources, economic size, military strength and political stability. As Joseph S. Nye (1990) points out, the definition of power has shifted from military force and conquest to factors of technology, education, and economic growth (Page 154). Nye argues that this shift in the exercise of power has provided states with a more attractive and cost-effective way of exercising power.

He argues that "a state can achieve the outcomes it prefers in world politics because other states want to follow it or have agreed to a situation that produces such effects"(Page 166). It has therefore become increasingly important to set the agenda and control the narrative in world politics. Nye calls this "co-optive or soft power" (Page 166). Given the change in world politics, the use of power is becoming less coercive, at least among major states (Page 167). They now have a greater incentive to use 'soft power' to spread their ideology and culture in order to maintain their global hegemony. Nye emphasises that countries with popular channels of communication have more opportunities to get their messages across and to influence the public (Page 167).

This is especially true as Western media models have become global reference points, influencing journalistic practices and media structures in non-Western countries. (Daniel C. Hallin and Paolo Mancini's). Given this shift, the media, especially Western media conglomerates (CNN, BBC, NYT, Fox News, etc.) have become active players in shaping geopolitical discourse. (Nye, 1990)

Case Studies: Western Media’s Construction of Non-Western Nations

In the following, this research paper will analyse selected case studies of the Western media's construction of non-Western nations and, by extension, non-Western people. In order to answer the research question, the present paper will focus on the Western media's construction of underdevelopment, instability or threat around non-Western nations and the implications of these representations for global power dynamics.

Framing of Ukraine vs. Syrian Refugees

In order to highlight the discrepancy in certain Western media depictions when it comes to Western and non-Western populations, many analysts have offered explicit comparisons between the violent conflict depictions of Ukraine and Syria. Although the conflicts in both countries are shaped by vastly different political dynamics and contexts, the two events overlap in significant ways. In particular, both conflicts have produced millions of war refugees (el Nawawy & Elmasry, 2024).

This provides a useful comparison, particularly in terms of how victims, especially refugees, have been portrayed by the Western media. Especially since studies have shown that 'some European countries have been more welcoming to Ukrainian refugees than to Syrian refugees' (Njai et al., 2022). At this point, it's important to echo the words of Paula Pinheiro, chair of the United Nations Commission on Syria, and emphasise that "there is an openness and generosity towards Ukraine that I don't criticise at all. They deserve it. But I would like to see the same treatment for the Syrian refugees" (Ghadakpour, 2022). To reiterate, the aim of this analysis is to show how Western media portray European refugees in crisis in comparison to non-European refugees, as objective and neutral journalism would imply that all refugees should be portrayed on equal terms.

However, this is not the case, as a study analysing the framing of refugees in British national newspapers found that Muslim refugees in particular were portrayed as hostile, unwilling to integrate and deserving of exclusion (Goodman and Kirkwood, 2019). At the same time, they concluded that 'Western newspapers were much more likely to humanise Ukrainian refugees than Syrian refugees'. In addition, the study underlines that "the most striking finding was the tendency of Western newspapers to portray Syrian refugees as a threat, something they rarely did with Ukrainian refugees. Syrian refugees were described as aggressors (20 times per article), while Ukrainian refugees were never described as aggressors. Also, articles about Syrian refugees contained more mentions of terrorism (M = .18) than articles about Ukrainian refugees (M = .02)" (el Nawawy & Elmasry, 2024). This highlights the difference in rhetorical language used by the Western media as a mechanism to shape public opinion.

However, it is worth noting that the study found that "Syrian refugees received significantly more attention than Ukrainian refugees" (el Nawawy & Elmasry, 2024). Nevertheless, total coverage is not necessarily a sign of media sympathy; the study itself confirms that "while attention to an issue can in some cases be an indication of support, it is also possible for the media to devote significant negative attention to prominent public issues" (el Nawawy & Elmasry, 2024). This has been the case, for example, with terrorist attacks committed by Muslims, which often receive more coverage than similar attacks committed by non-Muslims (Kearns et al., 2019).

Underdevelopment and Humanitarian Narratives

There has been a growing call for the media to refrain from portraying countries as 'underdeveloped'. Lugo-Ocando, Jairo & Nguyen argue that by portraying 'Third World' nations as perpetually underdeveloped and dependent on Western aid, these representations not only undermine the agency of these nations, but also reinforce a hierarchical global power structure in which the West is seen as superior (Lugo-Ocando & Nguyen, 2016).

On the one hand, the portrayal of countries as 'underdeveloped' is necessary for humanitarian aid. The European Civil Protection and Humanitarian Aid Operations announced that humanitarian needs continue to grow worldwide, and that the EU’s annual humanitarian budget is €1.9 billion for 2025 (European Commission, 2021). While this is important, it becomes counterproductive when the Western media's portrayal of underdevelopment is used to reinforce geopolitical power structures and influence development policies, rather than to promote aid (Lugo-Ocando & Nguyen, 2016).

As discussed, Western media tend to use selection bias to focus on crises, conflicts and disasters in non-Western countries, while overlooking positive developments. "This selective coverage shapes public perception, leading audiences to associate non-Western nations primarily with negative attributes, thereby justifying Western intervention and dominance" (Lugo-Ocando & Nguyen, 2016). This is achieved not only through agenda-setting, but also by framing news stories from a 'Eurocentric' perspective, often ignoring local contexts and voices. This marginalises indigenous narratives and solutions and reinforces Western approaches as the default or most effective, which in turn justifies Western ideological and cultural hegemony. (Lugo-Ocando & Nguyen, 2016)

China as a Threat

One study compared how the public viewed China and how the Western news media reported on China. It analysed a large dataset of New York Times newspaper articles and "identified major shifts in media sentiment toward China across eight topic domains over 50 years and found that media sentiment leads public opinion" (Huang et al., 2021).

The study concluded that "media sentiment on China predicts public opinion on China" (Huang et al., 2021) while also noting that "four topics (economics, globalisation, culture and marketization) are almost always covered positively, while coverage of the other four (ideology, government & administration, democracy and welfare & well-being) is overwhelmingly negative (Huang et al., 2021). This underlines that there is a strong correlation between Western media portrayal and public opinion, while also highlighting that issues such as ideology are overwhelmingly covered negatively, thus using soft power to frame China as a global threat and promote Western superiority.

Reclaiming Narratives: Transcultural Approaches to Global Media

A wide range of scholars, journalists and activists have offered counter-narratives and alternative representations of non-Western nations in the global media. Non-Western journalists are challenging Eurocentric narratives and strengthening a transcultural flow of information. Transculturality offers a solution to a multitude of issues we have discussed.

Every media should recognise the interwoven economies, influences and knowledge of all nations. Sociologist ,Boaventura de Sousa Santos, calls for ‘plural epistemologies’ that appreciate Southern perspectives in media discourse (Schotten, 2016). 'plural epistemologies' recognises that there is not one consistent way of approaching truths about the world, but rather several. This would for example make coverage of climate change more fruitful - instead of each country blaming the other, a transcultural approach would highlight shared environmental responsibilities and see our indigenous knowledge as the solution. Non-Western media should also be able to influence Western audiences, so that cultural influence is not one-sided but reciprocal. This can already be seen with the growing popularity of K-dramas, Bollywood and Afrobeat in the West. (Lie, 2012)

Conclusion

Transculturality challenges the binary construction of cultures at the heart of media othering. Therefore, rather than framing non-Western nations as threats or underdeveloped entities, the media should recognise the interwoven economies, influences and shared goals.

This does not mean that Western media should only highlight the positive aspects of non-Western nations, but rather that, given the arguments outlined in this paper, we must recognise that there has been an unbalanced representation of non-Western nations that has compromised journalistic integrity and objective reporting in order to exercise soft power to promote Western superiority, justify military and economic intervention, or maintain global hegemony. Instead of geographical media conglomerates controlling the global narrative, we should focus on promoting hybrid storytelling. Furthermore, instead of reinforcing nation-state divisions, the media should adopt a transcultural perspective in which global interactions are seen as fluid, overlapping and mutually shaping rather than isolated power struggles.

Moreover, for a transcultural perspective, cultural influence should not be unilateral but reciprocal, with non-Western media influencing Western audiences. In summary, transculturality offers a path towards more ethical media representations in which non-Western nations are not portrayed as 'others' but as active participants in global narratives. Transcultural journalism, for example through cross-national collaborations, could create a more inclusive and representative media landscape.

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