Hunger Games

Our research team will investigate the diverse narratives surrounding Ukraine’s grain trade and the Black Sea Grain Initiative (also known as the grain deal), ranging from “Ukraine as Europe’s breadbasket” to the notion that inexpensive Ukrainian grain undermines EU agriculture. The project will examine how state-affiliated media in the Global South perceive and exploit the grain trade issue and how food security is manipulated for various purposes. Through this research, the team aims to uncover the tactics and implications of disinformation in the context of global food politics.

In particular, we will analyze and code (using MAXQDA software) official ministry of foreign affairs (MFA) statements/communications from Russia, Ukraine, Egypt, and Poland in native languages. Moreover, we will also select government-affiliated/controlled media in these countries to analyze the narratives that the governments of these countries are indirectly circulating into the masses.

Task Team Leader: Misha Simanovskyy

We are aiming to compile a substantial database of coded official and unofficial statements/reports and publish our research in a high-impact peer-reviewed academic journal dealing with important contemporary international issues