<abstract xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml">

<p>The concept of ‘sharp power’ has recently emerged as a reaction to the assertiveness of authoritarian regimes. It serves to underline the complexity of challenges which are posed by authoritarian regimes, referring to diverse front lines in the overall ‘battle’, be they culture, education, or the media. The latter, according to Dmitri Trenin, “has become such a crowded battlefield”. This paper attempts to fill in the information gap regarding Russia’s ‘sharp power’ manifestations in Lithuania’s mass media and focuses on NATO related messages in particular. The paper presupposes that messages which evoke an air of support for Russia’s foreign and security policy tend to pass through to Lithuania’s mass media, and argues that, as a result of the insufficient activity by Lithuania’s mass media in terms of forming an independent perception of Russia vis-à-vis NATO, the preconditions for possible manifestations of Russia’s use of sharp power are therefore created. The article is organised into four parts. The first section sets out a theoretical framework for the analysis which focuses on the concept of sharp power. Then the research methodology is outlined. The third section presents features of the informational environment of Lithuania in 2016 and 2019. The final, and most elaborated, section investigates messages which apparently serve to support Russia’s foreign and security policy in terms of the NATO‘s topic in Lithuania’s mass media based on the aforementioned criteria.</p>
</abstract>

The concept of ‘sharp power’ has recently emerged as a reaction to the assertiveness of authoritarian regimes. It serves to underline the complexity of challenges which are posed by authoritarian regimes, referring to diverse front lines in the overall ‘battle’, be they culture, education, or the media. The latter, according to Dmitri Trenin, “has become such a crowded battlefield”. This paper attempts to fill in the information gap regarding Russia’s ‘sharp power’ manifestations in Lithuania’s mass media and focuses on NATO related messages in particular. The paper presupposes that messages which evoke an air of support for Russia’s foreign and security policy tend to pass through to Lithuania’s mass media, and argues that, as a result of the insufficient activity by Lithuania’s mass media in terms of forming an independent perception of Russia vis-à-vis NATO, the preconditions for possible manifestations of Russia’s use of sharp power are therefore created. The article is organised into four parts. The first section sets out a theoretical framework for the analysis which focuses on the concept of sharp power. Then the research methodology is outlined. The third section presents features of the informational environment of Lithuania in 2016 and 2019. The final, and most elaborated, section investigates messages which apparently serve to support Russia’s foreign and security policy in terms of the NATO‘s topic in Lithuania’s mass media based on the aforementioned criteria.

Russia's ‘Sharp Power’ Manifestations in Lithuania's Mass Media

Baltic Journal of Law & Politics

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 3.0 License.

{"article-title":"Russia's \u2018Sharp Power\u2019 Manifestations in Lithuania's Mass Media"}

The concept of ‘sharp power’ has recently emerged as a reaction to the assertiveness of authoritarian regimes. It serves to underline the complexity of...

Russia's ‘Sharp Power’ Manifestations in Lithuania's Mass Media

Published Online: Oct 08, 2021

Page range: 73 - 102

Received: Mar 29, 2021

Accepted: Jul 16, 2021

DOI: https://doi.org/10.2478/bjlp-2021-0004

Keywords
Russia, sharp power, Lithuania, mass media

© 2021 Gerda Jakštaitė-Confortola, published by Sciendo

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 3.0 License.

Russia's ‘Sharp Power’ Manifestations in Lithuania's Mass Media

Published Online: Oct 08, 2021

Page range: 73 - 102

Received: Mar 29, 2021

Accepted: Jul 16, 2021

DOI: https://doi.org/10.2478/bjlp-2021-0004

KeywordsRussia, sharp power, Lithuania, mass media

© 2021 Gerda Jakštaitė-Confortola, published by Sciendo

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 3.0 License.

Keywords
Russia, sharp power, Lithuania, mass media