Representation of Turkish Identity and Norms in the Media: 2020 Karabakh War

Abstract

The Nagorno-Karabakh issue between Azerbaijan and Armenia became one of the most critical agenda items in the international community again in 2020, resulting in thousands of casualties from both countries due to the conflicts. This study discusses Türkiye’s attitude towards the 2020 Karabakh War in the context of international relations, based on the constructivist theory. It focuses on explaining how the country’s national identity, as well as the international norms it adheres to, played a decisive role in its current foreign policy implementation. To do this, news articles related to the 2020 Karabakh War were gathered from Turkish and Azerbaijani news portals and subjected to content analysis. The analysis findings revealed that both Turkish and Azerbaijani media heavily emphasized messages related to shared identities and norms that play a significant role in shaping the perception and identities of the parties involved in the conflict. Furthermore, the media depicted the war as a matter of national identity and sovereignty.