Iran And The Caucasus States In The 21St Century: A Study Of Foreign Policy Goals And Means

The discussion of Iranian relations with other Caucasus states ranges from claims about Tehran\u27s ambition for exporting its revolution to suggestions as to whether it plays a positive role in stabilizing the region. How may one identify Iran\u27s main policy goals? What are Tehran\u27s major means in implementing these goals? How should one explain the bilateral ties between Iran and each Caucasus state? This paper will seek to examine the foreign policy philosophy adopted by Iran\u27s contemporary leaders in light of the options that exist with regard to the country\u27s resource needs and ideological goals and the resulting policy directions that are chosen, especially as far as the Caucasus states are concerned. © 2012 Taylor & Francis

Assessing EU perception in Kazakhstan's mass media

This paper explores the mass media perception of the European Union (EU) in Kazakhstan by utilizing the content analysis of the major mass media outlets. The authors examine news reports and periodical articles from four major national Kazakh newspapers using three measurement points. The first measurement point covers the early 1990s when Kazakhstan declared independence and began to establish its foreign relations. The second measurement point covers the periods before and after introduction of the EU Strategy for Central Asia (2006–2008). The third measurement point covers the years (2011–2013) associated with implementation with the EU Strategy and assessing its results. Our main findings suggest that Kazakhstan's mass media positively perceives the role of the EU in the region. Moreover, they tend to portray the EU mainly as an economic powerhouse. Our findings support some suggestions by similar studies of the EU's external perception

Mass Media Perception of the European Union in Kazakhstan

This paper explores the mass media perception of the European Union (EU) in Kazakhstan through the content analysis of major mass media outlets. This paper examines news reports and periodical articles from four major national Kazakh newspapers: “Yegemen Kazakhstan”, “Kazakhstanskaya Pravda”, “Zhas Alash” and “Vremya” at three measurement points. The first measurement point covers early 1990s when Kazakhstan became an independent state and started to build its foreign relations. The second measurement point covers years before and after introduction of the EU Strategy for Central Asia, namely years between 2006 and 2008. The third measurement point covers last three years (2011-2013) associated with implementation with the EU Strategy and assessing its results. The research suggests that the mass media generally positively perceives the EU, as most publications emphasize the positive role played by the EU in the region and Kazakhstan. Additionally, the initiation of the EU strategy for Central Asia led to wider coverage and therefore wider public recognition of the EU in Kazakhstan. However, discourse analysis of publications authored by the EU and Kazakhstanian elites indicates substantial variation in depiction of the European Union and its engagement in Central Asia and Kazakhstan in particular