Mapping National Interests: Semantic Network Analysis of USA and China’s Discourse on the Trade War

Mgr. Jo Anne Baladad

Master's thesis

Abstract:

The primary goals of this research are to give an overview of the dominant themes that emerge in the political discourse of the US and Chinese administrations concerning the trade war and map the salient national interests that are constructed in their narratives using the emerging methodology of Semantic Network Analysis which is suitable for large textual data. The analyzed data are textual articles posted by the US and Chinese administrations on their respective state websites from the period of 2017 to 2023. This research has found that Chinese national interests in government narratives point towards conforming to a liberal world order whereas US national interests emphasize themes which are protectionist in nature mainly because it perceives China as an enemy and as a threat to the US economy.

Keywords

USA, China, trade war, Semantic Network Analysis, political discourse, US-China trade

Jazyk práce: English

Datum vytvoření / odevzdání či podání práce: 11. 12. 2023

Obhajoba závěrečné práce

• Obhajoba proběhla 11. 1. 2024
• Vedúci: doc. Mgr. et Mgr. Oldřich Krpec, Ph.D.
• Oponent: Ing. Mgr. Petr Svatoň

Masaryk University

Faculty of Social Studies

Master programme / odbor:
International Relations and European Politics / International Relations and European Politics