A Comparative Analysis of Media Frames of the January 2022 Events in State and Independent Media Discourse

Abstract

This study offers a comparative analysis of framing and narrative structures in four key book-length publications on Kazakhstan’s January 2022 events: Leonid Mlechin’s «Tragic January: President Tokayev and Lessons Learned», Bigeldy Gabdullin’s «January-22: A Failed Coup and the Awakening of the Nation», the human rights report «Deliberate Shooting without Warning» edited by Bakytzhan Toregozhina and Evgeniy Zhovtis, and Azattyq Radio’s volume «Victims of Bloody January». This article offers a comparative analysis of framing and narrative structures in four major publications on Kazakhstan’s January 2022 events. The study investigates how state-aligned and independent sources construct interpretive frames, highlight key actors, and shape the meaning of the events. Using content analysis, frame analysis, and qualitative discourse analysis (including frame co-occurrence), over 1,000 coded units were examined across the four texts. This enabled the mapping of core thematic domains such as threat, statehood, rights, repression, victimhood, coup, and terrorism. The findings demonstrate that state-oriented publications predominantly use the frames of threat, coup attempt, terrorism, and statehood, placing President Tokayev at the center and portraying January as an «organized attack aimed at destabilizing the state». Independent sources emphasize victimhood, rights violations, torture, shooting without warning, and peaceful protest, representing the events as a «humanitarian and human-rights crisis caused by excessive state force». Co-occurrence analysis reveals two divergent causal logics: the state narrative follows the chain «threat – force – preservation of the state», whereas the independent narrative proceeds through «citizen – disproportionate force – rights violation – victim». These differences reflect broader tensions around legitimacy, information control, and symbolic power in Kazakhstan.