Popular geopolitics of propaganda: The Russian media and geopolitical imagination in Estonia

Understanding media and its impact in critical geopolitical studies could not be more relevant today. Modern media amplifies geopolitical narratives creating a fertile ground for propaganda and disinformation. As a result, this could shape understandings of geopolitics and support legitimization of foreign policy, war or conflict.
 
My PhD thesis focuses on the role of media in shaping society’s geopolitical imagination. I do so by analyzing the Russian media impact on the worldview of Russian speakers in Estonia. The first part of my PhD project focuses on geopolitical imagination - taken-for-granted truths and perceptions of geopolitics, the nations and the exercised power of countries. I will compare the main differences in perceptions of world politics between the groups of audiences who consume different types of media. Second, I will examine how geopolitical narratives spread by media, actors and networks shape understanding of world politics.

The other half of this evening will be PhD Candidate David Dalton with Ukraine’s oligarchs and oligarchy, their politics, and its economic impact, since the Maidan