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ABSTRACT
This paper examines how the Bangladeshi online media argues the country’s bilateral relations with bigger states by examining the media coverage on China, Japan, the US, and India. Methodologically, the study was conducted by combining quantitative text mining and qualitative analysis using the pentagonal model. The result shows that the Bangladeshi media publishes mostly economic related issues relating to each bigger state in line with the relationships based on investment, infrastructure, manufacture and exports between them and Bangladesh. In addition, comments on what Bangladesh expects to gain from bigger states are also observable. While Bangladesh faces various political and security issues with each of the bigger states, the media narrative is that the government is actively addressing these issues with the political motivation to enhance economic development, proactively engaging in balanced diplomacy while avoiding being passive and disadvantaged vis-à-vis the bigger states.
Disclosure statement
No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).
Notes
1 The term “smaller state” used in this paper refers to a “smaller or lesser power” that stands in an asymmetrical position in terms of national power in relation to a “big power” in international politics.
2 DiMaggio et. al., “Social implications of the Internet;” Grant, “China’s media expansion in Zambia: Influence on government, commercial, community, and religious media;” Westcott, “Digital diplomacy: The impact of the internet on international relations;” Neuman et al., “The dynamics of public attention: Agenda-setting theory meets big data;” Adesina, “Foreign policy in an era of digital diplomacy.”
3 World Bank, Individuals using the Internet (% of population) – Bangladesh | Data. The ratio of internet users has rapidly increased from 0% in 2005 to 25% in 2020. A sharp increase is observable since 2013.
4 Udupa, Media as politics in South Asia; Al-Zaman, “Digital media and political communication in Bangladesh;” CGS, Who owns the media in Bangladesh?
5 Ahmed, “Media, politics and the emergence of democracy in Bangladesh;” Al-Zaman, “Digital media and political communication in Bangladesh.”
6 McQuail,“The influence and effects of mass media.”
7 Bryant and Olivier, Media effects: Advances in theory and research; Valkenburg et al., “Media effects: Theory and research;” McQuail and Deuze, McQuail’s media and mass communication theory.
8 Couldry, “Theorising media as practice.”
9 Schramm, Mass media and national development: The role of information in the developing countries; Wasserman, Popular media, democracy and development in Africa; Adegoke, “Africa and the Media..”
10 Ochilo, “Press freedom and the role of the media in Kenya;” Phiri, “Media in ‘democratic’ Zambia: Problems and prospects;” Ahmed, “Media, politics and the emergence of democracy in Bangladesh;” PiMA, Background paper: Politics and interactive media in Zambia; Arora, “Bottom of the data pyramid: Big data and the global south..”
11 Wekesa et al., “Introduction to the special issue: Digital diplomacy in Africa;” Intentilia et al., “Utilizing digital platforms for diplomacy in ASEAN: A preliminary overview;” Garud-Patkar, “Is digital diplomacy an effective foreign policy tool? Evaluating India’s digital diplomacy through agenda-building in South Asia.”
12 Kuik, “The essence of hedging: Malaysia and Singapore’s response to a rising China;” “Asymmetry and authority: Theorizing Southeast Asian responses to China’s Belt and Road Initiative;” “Getting hedging right: a small-state perspective.”
13 Montiel et al., “Nationalism in local media during international conflict: Text mining domestic news reports of the China – Philippines maritime dispute;” “Narrative congruence between populist President Duterte and the Filipino public: Shifting global alliances from the United States to China.”
14 Ciborek, “The People’s Republic of China as a ‘pillar’ in the foreign policy of the Republic of Serbia during COVID-19 pandemic;” Styczyńska, “Who are Belgrade’s most desired allies?.”
15 Gondwe, “China’s media expansion in Zambia: Influence on government, commercial, community, and religious media;” Chimbelu, “Status complicated: In Zambia, China-Africa is a partnership Washington should not necessarily envy.”
16 Wu, “China’s media and public diplomacy approach in Africa: Illustrations from South Africa;” Munoriyarwa, “Is this not colonization? Framing Sino-South African relations in South Africa’s mainstream press.”
17 Akanda, “Ideational meaning: Media representations of Sino-Bangladesh relation and its actors;” “Ideology and power in the headlines: A critical discourse analysis of Bangladesh-China relations;” Nominalizations: Application of grammatical metaphor in the news articles of Bangladesh-China relations.
18 Higuchi, A two-step approach to quantitative content analysis using Anne of Green Gables, Part I.
19 Entman, “Framing: Toward clarification of a fractured paradigm;” Cappella and Jamieson, Spiral of cynicism: The press and the public good.
20 Chong and Druckman, “Framing theory;” Entman, “Framing bias: Media in the distribution of power.”
21 Neuman et al., Common knowledge: News and the construction of political meaning.
22 United Nations. Graduation of Bangladesh, the Lao People’s Democratic Republic and Nepal from the least developed country category.
23 Yunus, “The garment industry in Bangladesh;” Alam et al., “Determinants of the Bangladesh garment exports in the post-MFA environment.”
24 Rahman, “Development, democracy and the NGO sector: Theory and evidence from Bangladesh;” Islam, “The toxic politics of Bangladesh: A bipolar competitive neopatrimonial state?;” Mostofa and Subedi, “Rise of competitive authoritarianism in Bangladesh;” Riaz, “The pathway of democratic backsliding in Bangladesh.”
25 Rahman, “Freedom of speech & expression in Bangladesh in the context of the ICT Act 2006;” Hasan, “Digital Security Act 2018: From the lens of investigative journalism and freedom of expression..”
26 Pattanaik, “Engaging the Asian giants: India, China and Bangladesh’s crucial balancing act;” Chakma, “The BRI and Sino-Indian geo-economic competition in Bangladesh: Coping strategy of a small state;” Yasmin, “India and China in South Asia: Bangladesh’s opportunities and challenges;” Pal, “China’s influence in South Asia: Vulnerabilities and resilience in four countries.”
27 Genilo et al., “Small circulation, big impact: English language newspaper readability in Bangladesh.”
28 CGS, Who owns the media in Bangladesh?
29 Riaz, “Bangladesh: From an electoral democracy to a hybrid regime (1991–2018);” Riaz and Parvez, “Anatomy of a rigged election in a hybrid regime: the lessons from Bangladesh;” Jackman and Maitrot, “The Party-Police nexus in Bangladesh..”
30 Freedom House, Bangladesh: Freedom on the Net 2022 Country Report. According to the international ranking published by Freedom House, the status of media freedom in Bangladesh is party free. While social media is not blocked, network restriction and website blockage exist and commentors are pro-government.
31 World Bank, Press Freedom Index – GovData360. According to the index published by the World Bank since 2002, the index, which was rated at 62.5 at its highest point in 2004, has continued to decline since 2012.
32 Ahmed, “Media, politics and the emergence of democracy in Bangladesh.”
33 Price, The enabling environment for free and independent media: Contribution to transparent and accountable governance. “The historicity of media regulation in Zambia;” Ndawana et al., “Examining the proposed statutory self-regulation..”
34 Genilo et al., “Small circulation, big impact: English language newspaper readability in Bangladesh;” CGS, Who owns the media in Bangladesh?
35 Articles were collected from each media’s internal search engine using the keywords of China, Japan, USA, India and Bangladesh. The number of samples collected is the result of an automated search.
36 Note that for articles published before 2012, two were available in 2003 and 2010 for Japan, one in 2004 and two in 2010 for the US, and one was published in 2011 for India.
37 The Daily Star, October 17, 2016.
38 September 1, 2022.
39 February 23, 2022.
40 See the paper by Yasmin in this special issue for the details of Chinese funded infrastructure projects in Bangladesh.
41 May 26, 2015.
42 The Daily Star, June 19, 2019.
43 August 26, 2015.
44 The Daily Star, April 21, 2017.
45 May 10, 2021.
46 June 2, 2022.
47 June 18, 2022.
48 May 11, 2022.
49 June 2, 2022.
50 November 12, 2018.
51 November 30, 2018.
52 May 17, 2019.
53 September 2, 2021.
54 May 12, 2021.
55 The Daily Star, February 16, 2022.
56 June 8, 2022.
57 June 1, 2016.
58 September 3, 2020.
59 June 6, 2022.
60 July 5, 2014.
61 May 30, 2019.
62 June 1, 2016.
63 August 11, 2015.
64 The Daily Star, August 13, 2015.
65 October 24, 2019.
66 August 17, 2015.
67 December 11, 2021.
68 April 14, 2022.
69 April 24, 2022.
70 The Daily Star, June 1, 2022.
71 Daily Sun, January 15, 2023.
72 October 18, 2019.
73 Daily Sun, April 12, 2022.
74 April 8, 2022.
75 July 15, 2022.
76 Daily Sun, January 9, 2023.
77 The Daily Star, May 11, 2015.
78 May 28, 2015.
79 December 31, 2021.
80 October 27, 2020.
81 November 26, 2019.
82 August 25, 2022.
83 March 10, 2021.
84 CGS. Who Owns the Media in Bangladesh?.
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Natsuko Imai
Natsuko Imai Research Officer of JICA Ogata Sadako Research Institute for Peace and Development. She has worked for the United Nations University Institute for the Advanced Study of Sustainability to coordinate the global leadership training program in Africa, and the United Nations Development Program in Sierra Leone and Afghanistan for peacebuilding as Programme Manager and Head of Unit, and NGOs for humanitarian relief and refugee protection in Indonesia and Uganda as Project Director. Academically, she has researched the role of civil society and grassroots actors on the ground in conflict prevention and peace processes.