Paradiplomacy and hybrid warfare: the role of media and territory in contemporary conflicts

Talya İşcan

SAP Netnography, 2025

Abstract: This article analyzes the role of paradiplomacy and the media in contemporary hybrid warfare contexts. Focusing on the cases of Ukraine, Syria, and Korea, it examines how sub-state actors, cities, and local networks deploy strategies of internationalization and symbolic resistance through paradiplomatic and media actions. It argues that in 21st-century hybrid warfare, paradiplomacy becomes a crucial instrument for symbolic reconstruction, territorial resilience, and narrative contestation, redefining the boundaries of traditional diplomacy. A transdisciplinary theoretical approach is proposed, articulating the notions of framing, public diplomacy, propaganda, and paradiplomacy, supported by a qualitative methodology of comparative discourse analysis.This article also offers a critical analysis of the role of international media in the symbolic shaping of contemporary conflicts within the framework of hybrid warfare. Through the comparative study of the cases of Ukraine, Syria, and North Korea/South Korea, it examines how platforms such as CNN, Russia Today (RT), Al Jazeera, and KCNA act as strategic players competing for narrative hegemony. The study concludes that global media are no longer mere observers but active instruments of narrative warfare in polarized geopolitical contexts.

Date: 2025
References: Add references at CitEc
Citations:

Downloads: (external link)
https://southam.pub/journals/files/net/net2025299en.pdf (application/pdf)
https://southam.pub/journals/files/net/net2025299es.pdf (application/pdf)

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:cwf:netart:net2025299

DOI: 10.62486/net2025299

Access Statistics for this article

More articles in SAP Netnography from South American Publishing
Bibliographic data for series maintained by South American Publishing Journals Manager ().