This article addresses media coverage of soft-power threats, which are typical in modern wars between state and non-state actors. In doing so, the authors depart from the vast literature on the ‘rally ’round the flag’ phenomenon coined in relation to conventional military threats. They base their case study on the interplay between Israel and the global Boycott, Divestment, Sanctions (BDS) civil society movement that utilizes soft-power tactics with the aim of isolating Israel internationally. To assess the way the Israeli media relate to BDS, determine the absence or existence of a ‘rally ’round the flag’ phenomenon vis-à-vis BDS, and assess coverage characteristics, the authors conducted a qualitative and quantitative analysis of ( N = 209) articles covering BDS in the Israeli media over the course of three years (2015−2018). Their findings suggest that coverage of the soft threat follows similar patterns to those coined on conventional military threats.
This article deals with state stigmas in the international arena, and addresses the question: why do state-stigmas develop and become sustained in some cases, whereas in other cases they wither away? For parsimonious, analytical purposes we view the process of state stigmatisation through two, interrelated stages: the stigma’s development – where transnational civil society activists and the engagement of mainstream international media play an important role; and the stigma’s sustenance where these elements are joined by the target state’s coping strategy. For theoretical consistency, we limit ourselves to exploring states that are (a) involved in conflicts and (b) aspiring to be part of the Western-led ‘club’ of states. Through the analysis of press articles and UN documents relating to two vastly different case studies: South Africa (1985–1994) and Israel (2000–2019), we demonstrate that states in conflictual situations have limited manoeuvring space in dealing with their developing stigmas; and that the choice of tools utilized in the implementation of the same coping strategy can lead to different results.
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