‘Propaganda Fights’ and ‘Disinformation Campaigns’: the discourse on information warfare in Russia-West relations by Mario Baumann
“Russian disinformation” and “Western propaganda” are exemplary catchwords associated with the notion of “information warfare” – an issue pervading public and political discourse both in Russia and the West. But what do these discourses tell us about – and what role are they playing for – the state of Russia-West relations? In his new paper published in Contemporary Politics, Mario applies poststructuralist discourse theory to explore identity constructing processes, the genealogy of wide-spread contemporary representations, and the dynamics of interaction between these conflicting discourses in Russia and the West.
Mario Baumann is a PhD Candidate in International Relations at the Brussels School of International Studies (BSIS) since September 2019. In his primary research, he focusses on the interaction of interpretations in Russia and the European Union. He is intrigued by competing narratives and perspectives on the world and their implications for international politics.
Mario holds an MLitt (distinction) in International Security Studies from the University of St Andrews (2018) and received his BA in International Relations from Dresden University of Technology (2017). Before joining BSIS, he has worked as tutor and project manager for “German Studies Russia” at MGIMO in Moscow where he taught a seminar on research methods in political sciences.