The geopolitics of human suffering: a comparative study of media coverage of the conflicts in Yemen and Ukraine

Abstract

A Saudi-led coalition of states initiated an on-going-armed conflict in Yemen on 26 March 2015. Meanwhile, Russia invaded Ukraine on 24 February 2022. Though no two armed conflicts are exactly alike, there is reason to compare US media coverage of the two because: (1) civilians have been victims of both conflicts; (2) both conflicts have undermined food security; (3) the US has provided military support to a party to each of the conflicts; and (4) the conflict in Yemen is in the Global South whereas the conflict in Ukraine is in the Global North. This article comparatively analyses US media coverage of the conflicts in Yemen and Ukraine, via New York Times headlines, by documenting the number of stories and their placement; assessing the types of media frames used; reviewing headlines for attribution of responsibility; and conducting a content analysis to identify the descriptive and normative terminology used. We find extensive biases in coverage and framing, rooted in peripheralism, culturalism and differential geopolitical US positioning. This results in reduced coverage of the war in Yemen, shielded in neutral language and lacking responsibility attribution—serving to devalue the suffering of victims and condemning the crisis to be functionally forgotten.

Keywords:

• Yemen
• Saudi Arabia
• Ukraine
• Russia
• geopolitics
• human security

Acknowledgements

The authors would like to thank the anonymous reviewers for their feedback, which aided greatly in strengthening this article.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflicts of interest were reported by the authors.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Jeffrey S. Bachman

Jeffrey S. Bachman is Associate Professor at American University’s School of International Service. He is the author of The Politics of Genocide: From the Genocide Convention to the Responsibility to Protect (Rutgers University Press, 2022) and The United States and Genocide: (Re)Defining the Relationship (Routledge, 2017). He is also the editor of Cultural Genocide: Law, Politics, and Global Manifestations (Routledge, 2019) and the forthcoming volume Genocide: The Path Ahead. His research has also been published in Third World Quarterly, Genocide Studies and Prevention, Journal of Genocide Research, and International Studies Perspectives, among others.

Esther Brito Ruiz

Esther Brito Ruiz is completing a PhD at American University’s School of International Service. Beyond this, she has a Master’s in Gender, Peace, and Security from the London School of Economics, specialising in genocide and women’s rights. She is Junior Fellow in the War, Conflict & Global Migration think tank of the Global Research Network, and the author of the book Cities and Governance: The Rise of Cities as Global Actors. She serves as Editor-in-Chief of the IVolunteer International Writers Council, Education Director of ITSS Verona, and was previously a Global Shaper within The World Economic Forum.