The presentation of the peace process between Azerbaijan and Armenia in Turkish media: An analysis within the framework of news framing theory

The issue of conflict has recently gained significant attention in both academic literature and media practice, particularly through the lens of peace journalism. In this context, this thesis examines how developments concerning diplomatic reconciliation between Azerbaijan and Armenia, following the Second Karabakh War that began on September 27, 2020, have been represented and framed in the media of Turkey, a country that is an official ally of Azerbaijan. To this end, a content analysis was conducted on relevant news articles published in five Turkish newspapers — Sözcü, Sabah, Cumhuriyet, Milliyet, and Hürriyet— and the findings were evaluated within the framework of framing theory. According to the research findings, the Turkish media largely presents developments in the peace process within a "responsibility frame"; the news extensively features the stances of regional and national actors and highlights official discourses reflecting the interests of Azerbaijan and Turkey. In contrast, the approaches of Armenia, one of the key parties in the peace process, are given limited coverage. Furthermore, it was determined that the news frames in the examined newspapers are largely based on official news agency sources, which has led to a homogenization in framing. In this regard, this thesis not only contributes to the literature on the media representation of the Azerbaijan-Armenia peace process but also lays the groundwork for future studies focusing on news framing and the tendencies toward homogenization in Turkish media.