Boucher, Jean-ChristopheJarvis, Hailey2025-01-292025-01-292024-05-29Jarvis, H. (2024). Canada's role in NATO: Foreign Policy Role Conceptions in the Canadian News Media (Unpublished master's project). University of Calgary, Calgary, AB.https://hdl.handle.net/1880/120633The media influences foreign policy narratives at elite and public opinion levels. The media has the power to profoundly impact policy decisions – and international security policy is no exception. In a rapidly changing security environment, it is now more critical than ever that Canada examine its historic role in the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) and prepare for the role it intends to play in the future. This study seeks to answer the question, "How do international role perceptions shape the narrative surrounding Canada's participation in NATO within the Canadian media landscape?". Role theory has provided the theoretical basis for this analysis, arguing that democratic policymakers will act in accordance with how they are perceived both domestically by the public and internationally by other states to maintain political popularity. A supervised machine learning model was utilized to analyze Canadian news articles which discussed NATO and identify when Canada was portrayed in specific roles. The three roles defined and placed in this study are ‘good international citizen’ (GIC), ‘faithful ally,’ and ‘free-rider.’ The findings show that, as a baseline, the Canadian media predominantly portrays Canada’s role as a GIC; however, during times of increased pressure from allies or intensified international conflict, the media reacts with dramatically increased portrayals of Canada as a faithful ally. While these findings challenge initial hypotheses, they still provide valuable insight into the reactionary nature of foreign policy news coverage in Canada. Rather than acting in a manner that holds the government accountable for their actions, during increased scrutiny, the media attempts to justify federal government actions by reinforcing that Canada is deeply intertwined with their historical allies and not accountable for their actions. Alternatively, during times of calm when the GIC role is dominant, the media is trying to portray Canadian military actions abroad in an idealistic and popular manner to the public rather than what would be considered the most balanced or accurate. This cyclical nature of national defence media coverage speaks to the changing quality of media in Canada, where content is increasingly chosen based on what will attract viewership and feed the elite narrative rather than balanced political coverage that contributes to the democratic process. To combat the cyclical nature of foreign policy media coverage, it is recommended that the Department of National Defence (DND) form proactive and positive relationships with the media, amendments be made to the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) to combat the monopolization of media publishing by elites, and that foreign policy decision-makers construct a coherent path forward in terms of the role Canada wishes to play in NATO as a new security era emerges. I hope that with these steps, a more coherent foreign policy role conception will begin to be formed when the media discusses Canada’s role in international security, which will assist in informing the public and holding political elites more accountable.enUniversity of Calgary graduate students retain copyright ownership and moral rights for their thesis. You may use this material in any way that is permitted by the Copyright Act or through licensing that has been assigned to the document. For uses that are not allowable under copyright legislation or licensing, you are required to seek permission.NATOCanadaFaithful AllyGood International CitizenFree-RiderRole TheoryMediaForeign PolicyReport