Iraq’s invasion of Kuwait and the mediated politics of nation-state building
An applied thematic analysis of al-Nida’ newspaper
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 12904756 |
|---|---|
| Authors | A Al-Rawi (0000-0001-7336-1550, Simon Fraser University, corresponding author), Hayder Alkilabi (0009-0008-5127-0015, Carleton University) |
| Year | 2025 |
| Publication date | 2025-09-06 |
| Peer Reviewed | Yes |
| Open Access | Yes |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Media War & Conflict (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 1750-6352 • E-ISSN: 1750-6360 |
| Publisher | SAGE Publishing (PUBLISHER • US) |
| DOI | 10.1177/17506352251365424 |
| OpenAlex | W4414033311 |
| Language | EN |
| References cited | 33 |
After the Iraqi invasion of Kuwait, al-Nida’ (The Call) newspaper was established as a propaganda tool to justify annexation and communicate with Kuwaiti citizens. This study conducts an archival analysis of 104 issues to examine how the Ba’athist regime framed its nation-state building efforts through media. This research applies Mylonas’s theoretical framework ( The Politics of Nation-Building: Making Co-Nationals, Refugees, and Minorities , 2012) on assimilation, accommodation, and exclusion to examine how Ba’athist propaganda in al-Nida’ constructed and omitted nation-building strategies. Using Applied Thematic Analysis (ATA), six dominant themes emerged: historical claims, exclusion of the Kuwaiti ruling elite, sociopolitical integration, law and order, economic integration, and territorial claims. This study highlights the role of propaganda in wartime nation-state building, demonstrating how authoritarian regimes engineer national identity through media. By analyzing al-Nida’ , this research contributes to scholarship on nation-state legitimacy, wartime propaganda, and occupation narratives, offering insights into how war, propaganda, and state-building efforts intersect in nation-building projects
Cartography · Geography · Media studies · Newspaper · Political science · Politics · Qualitative research · Social science · Sociology · State (computer science · Thematic analysis · Thematic map · Computer Science · Jewish and Middle Eastern Studies · Law · Middle East and Rwanda Conflicts · Middle East Politics and Society
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Nation-Building and Citizenship
Imagined Communities
Perceptions of Social Change
War and State Building in the Middle East
The Politics of Nation-Building
The History of Kuwait
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Tailoring Narratives on War in Ukraine
The Responsibility to Protect after Libya & Syria
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States and Social Revolutions
| Citation velocity | historical |
|---|---|
| Highly cited | No |