A THEMATIC ANALYSIS ON THE REPRESENTATION OF SINOVAC VACCINE AS A SOFT POWER TOOL IN THE TURKISH PRESS
Abstract
This study examines the representation of the Chinese Sinovac (CoronaVac) COVID-19 vaccine in the Turkish press and explores its use in the context of China's health diplomacy and soft power strategies. During the COVID-19 pandemic, vaccines have become not only tools of biomedical intervention but also instruments of public diplomacy, political representations and symbolic power. In this context, the media has treated the vaccine not only as a medical measure, but also as a site of ideological debate and a tool of social manipulation. The aim of this study is to determine how Sinovac vaccines are used in the context of China's health diplomacy and soft power strategies, to reveal the reflections of these strategies of China in the Turkish press, and to contribute to the existing body of knowledge on China's health diplomacy and soft power strategies. The main question of the research is around which themes the news discourses on the Sinovac vaccine in the Turkish press are shaped and how these discourses are related to China's soft power strategies. The qualitative research method was adopted in the study and the analysis process was carried out within the framework of the thematic analysis technique. The data set consists of a total of 3738 news articles published between January 13, 2021 and January 13, 2022. The data were obtained from seven national newspapers with different ideological stripes; the content was coded and systematically analyzed using MAXQDA 2022 software. Following the coding process, the analyzed news items were grouped under five main themes: vaccine procurement and distribution, scientific evaluations and safety, privileged practices and political criticism, media representation and public trust, and social impacts of the pandemic. The findings revealed that media outlets framed the same issue in different ways depending on their ideological orientations and that public attitudes towards vaccination were shaped through these representations.
References
- Allison, G. (2014). Destined for War: Can America and China Escape Thucydides’s Trap? Houghton Mifflin Harcourt.
- Antwi-Boasiako, I. (2022). Vaccine diplomacy game: The race for soft power. Technological University Dublin.
- Barlas, G., Öztürk, H., Pehlivantürk, G., & Aydın, S. (2021). Turkey's response to COVID-19 pandemic: strategy and key actions. Turkish Journal of Medical Sciences, 3150-3156.
- Braun, V., & Clarke, V. (2008). Using thematic analysis in psychology. Qualitative Research in Psychology, 77-101.
- Couldry, N., & Hepp, A. (2018). The mediated construction of reality. John Wiley & Sons.
- Çavuş, S., & Öztürk, M. (2021). Kovid-19’un ABD-Çin İlişkilerine Etkisini Trump’ın Twitter’daki Hakikat Ötesi Siyaseti Üzerinden Okumak. Gümüşhane Üniversitesi Sosyal Bilimler Dergisi, 389-403.
- Hall, J. S. (1997). Representation: Cultural representations and signifying practices. Sage.
- Huan, Q. (2021). The Pandemic and the Transformation of Liberal International Order. Journal of Chinese Political Science, 1-26.
- Huang, Q. (2021). The pandemic and the transformation of liberal international order. Journal of Chinese Political Science, 1-26.
- Kalçık, T., & Bayrak, Ü. A. (2020). Covid-19 Salgınının Yönetilmesinde Sosyal Medya Kullanımı: Sağlık Bakanı Fahrettin Koca’nın Resmi Twitter Hesabı Üzerine Bir Analiz. . Electronic Turkish Studies.
- Lipscy, P. Y. (2020). COVID-19 and the Politics of Crisis . International Organizaton, E98-E127.
- Machin, D., & Mayr, A. (2023). How to Do Critical Discourse Analysis : A Multimodal Introduction. Sage Publications.
- McQuail, D. (2010). McQuail's mass communication theory. Sage Publications.
- Nye, J. S. (2004). Soft power: The means to success in world politics. Public Affairs.
- O'Shaughnessy, M., Stadler, J., & Casey, S. (2012). Media & Society. South Melbourne: Oxford University Press. .
- Schrøder, K. C. (1995). Book reviews : Norman Fairclough, Media Discourse. London: Edward Arnold. European Journal of Cultural Studies, 285-290.
- Shambaugh, D. (2013). China Goes Global: The Partial Power. International Relations of the Asia-Pacific.
- Sparke, M., & Levi, O. (2022). Competing Responses to Global Inequalities in Access to COVID Vaccines: Vaccine Diplomacy and Vaccine Charity Versus Vaccine Liberty. Clinical Infectious Diseases, 86-92.
- Taghizade, S., Chattu, V. K., Jaafaripooyan1, E., & Kevany, S. (2021). COVID-19 Pandemic as an Excellent Opportunity for Global Health Diplomacy. Frontiers Public Health, 655201.
- Terry, G., Hayfield, N., Clarke, V., & Braun, V. (2017). Thematic Analysis. The SAGE handbook of qualitative research in psychology.
- Yıldırım, U. T. (2023). Public Policies against the Covid-19 Pandemic: The United Nations, The European Union and Türkiye. Turkish Academic Research Review, 1383-1406.
- Yavuz, E. (2020). COVID-19 aşıları. Turkish Journal of Family Practice, 227-234.
Abstract
This study examines the representation of the Chinese Sinovac (CoronaVac) COVID-19 vaccine in the Turkish press and explores its use in the context of China's health diplomacy and soft power strategies. During the COVID-19 pandemic, vaccines have become not only tools of biomedical intervention but also instruments of public diplomacy, political representations and symbolic power. In this context, the media has treated the vaccine not only as a medical measure, but also as a site of ideological debate and a tool of social manipulation. The aim of this study is to determine how Sinovac vaccines are used in the context of China's health diplomacy and soft power strategies, to reveal the reflections of these strategies of China in the Turkish press, and to contribute to the existing body of knowledge on China's health diplomacy and soft power strategies. The main question of the research is around which themes the news discourses on the Sinovac vaccine in the Turkish press are shaped and how these discourses are related to China's soft power strategies. The qualitative research method was adopted in the study and the analysis process was carried out within the framework of the thematic analysis technique. The data set consists of a total of 3738 news articles published between January 13, 2021 and January 13, 2022. The data were obtained from seven national newspapers with different ideological stripes; the content was coded and systematically analyzed using MAXQDA 2022 software. Following the coding process, the analyzed news items were grouped under five main themes: vaccine procurement and distribution, scientific evaluations and safety, privileged practices and political criticism, media representation and public trust, and social impacts of the pandemic. The findings revealed that media outlets framed the same issue in different ways depending on their ideological orientations and that public attitudes towards vaccination were shaped through these representations.
References
- Allison, G. (2014). Destined for War: Can America and China Escape Thucydides’s Trap? Houghton Mifflin Harcourt.
- Antwi-Boasiako, I. (2022). Vaccine diplomacy game: The race for soft power. Technological University Dublin.
- Barlas, G., Öztürk, H., Pehlivantürk, G., & Aydın, S. (2021). Turkey's response to COVID-19 pandemic: strategy and key actions. Turkish Journal of Medical Sciences, 3150-3156.
- Braun, V., & Clarke, V. (2008). Using thematic analysis in psychology. Qualitative Research in Psychology, 77-101.
- Couldry, N., & Hepp, A. (2018). The mediated construction of reality. John Wiley & Sons.
- Çavuş, S., & Öztürk, M. (2021). Kovid-19’un ABD-Çin İlişkilerine Etkisini Trump’ın Twitter’daki Hakikat Ötesi Siyaseti Üzerinden Okumak. Gümüşhane Üniversitesi Sosyal Bilimler Dergisi, 389-403.
- Hall, J. S. (1997). Representation: Cultural representations and signifying practices. Sage.
- Huan, Q. (2021). The Pandemic and the Transformation of Liberal International Order. Journal of Chinese Political Science, 1-26.
- Huang, Q. (2021). The pandemic and the transformation of liberal international order. Journal of Chinese Political Science, 1-26.
- Kalçık, T., & Bayrak, Ü. A. (2020). Covid-19 Salgınının Yönetilmesinde Sosyal Medya Kullanımı: Sağlık Bakanı Fahrettin Koca’nın Resmi Twitter Hesabı Üzerine Bir Analiz. . Electronic Turkish Studies.
- Lipscy, P. Y. (2020). COVID-19 and the Politics of Crisis . International Organizaton, E98-E127.
- Machin, D., & Mayr, A. (2023). How to Do Critical Discourse Analysis : A Multimodal Introduction. Sage Publications.
- McQuail, D. (2010). McQuail's mass communication theory. Sage Publications.
- Nye, J. S. (2004). Soft power: The means to success in world politics. Public Affairs.
- O'Shaughnessy, M., Stadler, J., & Casey, S. (2012). Media & Society. South Melbourne: Oxford University Press. .
- Schrøder, K. C. (1995). Book reviews : Norman Fairclough, Media Discourse. London: Edward Arnold. European Journal of Cultural Studies, 285-290.
- Shambaugh, D. (2013). China Goes Global: The Partial Power. International Relations of the Asia-Pacific.
- Sparke, M., & Levi, O. (2022). Competing Responses to Global Inequalities in Access to COVID Vaccines: Vaccine Diplomacy and Vaccine Charity Versus Vaccine Liberty. Clinical Infectious Diseases, 86-92.
- Taghizade, S., Chattu, V. K., Jaafaripooyan1, E., & Kevany, S. (2021). COVID-19 Pandemic as an Excellent Opportunity for Global Health Diplomacy. Frontiers Public Health, 655201.
- Terry, G., Hayfield, N., Clarke, V., & Braun, V. (2017). Thematic Analysis. The SAGE handbook of qualitative research in psychology.
- Yıldırım, U. T. (2023). Public Policies against the Covid-19 Pandemic: The United Nations, The European Union and Türkiye. Turkish Academic Research Review, 1383-1406.
- Yavuz, E. (2020). COVID-19 aşıları. Turkish Journal of Family Practice, 227-234.
Details
| Primary Language | Turkish |
|---|---|
| Subjects | Journalism |
| Journal Section | RESEARCH ARTICLES |
| Authors | |
| Early Pub Date | June 30, 2025 |
| Publication Date | July 1, 2025 |
| Submission Date | April 11, 2025 |
| Acceptance Date | June 30, 2025 |
| Published in Issue | Year 2025 Volume: 15 Issue: 3 |
