Between wars and words: how international conflict shapes discourse of non-belligerent political leaders

Ana Paula Pellegrino, Benjamin R. Burnley and Laia Balcells

No wp-2026-2, WIDER Working Paper Series from World Institute for Development Economic Research (UNU-WIDER)

Abstract: Does the outbreak of a major international war change political discourse? Drawing on theories of political communication and elite cueing, identity salience, and threat perception, we hypothesize that the outbreak of a war of aggression by a major power increases the use of nationalist rhetoric by heads of government in other, non-belligerent, states. To test this hypothesis, we analyse over 10,000 tweets by heads of government from 130 countries before and after the Russian invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.

Keywords: Nationalism; Conflict; Social networks (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2026
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