Reading the Effects of Covid-19 on US-China Relations through Trump's Post-Truth Policy on Twitter

Abstract

Donald John Trump has left an important mark in American history as a leader who rejects Obama-era policies, uses the slogan of "America first", promises “make America great again”, and conveys them mostly on Twitter. The most important reflection of the policies of Trump was observed in the US-China relations as soon as he took office in January 2017. Eventually policies aimed at protecting US interests and preventing China's rise turned into a “trade war”. One of the most important events affecting the US-China relations was undoubtedly the Covid-19 epidemic, which spread from China-Wuhan to the world in December 2019 and affected the USA deeply. This study carried out to investigate the US-China relations during the Trump period and the effects of the global Covid-19 outbreak on bilateral relations. Trump uses social media, especially Twitter, as an important instrument for post-truth politics. Therefore, in broad context, the study carried out on Trump’s post-truth politics. In the special context that emphasizes the effects of Covid-19 in bilateral relations, Trump’s Twitter posts between February-June 2020 analyzed through content analysis and descriptive analysis. Accordingly, the Covid-19 outbreak has deepened the conflicts between the two countries and worsened the relations, given the ongoing trade wars. This situation, which also reflects the concentration of Trump’s post-truth politics, closely related to US domestic politics.

Keywords

• Trump
• Post Truth
• Twitter
• China
• Covid 19

Kovid-19’un ABD-Çin İlişkilerine Etkisini Trump’ın Twitter’daki Hakikat Ötesi Siyaseti Üzerinden Okumak

Abstract

Donald John Trump; Obama dönemi politikalarını reddeden, ‘önce Amerika’ sloganını kullanan, ABD’yi yeniden güçlü kılmayı vaat eden ve bunları daha ziyade Twitter üzerinden aktaran bir lider olarak Amerikan tarihinde önemli iz bırakmıştır. Trump’ın 2017 Ocak ayında göreve gelir gelmez uygulamaya koyduğu politikaların dış politikadaki en önemli yansıması, ABD-Çin ilişkilerinde gözlenmiştir. ABD’nin çıkarlarını korumaya ve Çin’in yükselişini engellemeye yönelik bu politikalar, zamanla ‘ticaret savaşına’ dönüşmüştür. Bunun yanında ikili ilişkileri etkileyen en önemli gelişmelerden birisi de şüphesiz 2019 Aralığında Çin’in Vuhan kentinde çıkıp, dünyaya yayılan ve ABD’yi de derinden etkileyen Kovid-19 salgını olmuştur. Bu çalışma, Trump dönemi ABD-Çin ilişkilerini ve küresel Kovid-19 salgınının ikili ilişkilere etkilerini araştırmak amacıyla yürütülmüştür. Trump, Twitter başta olmak üzere sosyal medyayı hakikat ötesi siyaseti için önemli bir enstrüman olarak kullanmaktadır. Bu yüzden çalışma, geniş bağlamda Trump’ın hakikat ötesi siyasetine odaklanmaktadır. Kovid-19’un ikili ilişkilere etkileri üzerinde durulan özel bağlamda ise Trump’ın Şubat-Haziran 2020 arasındaki Twitter paylaşımları içerik analizi ve betimsel analizle incelenmiştir. Buna göre Kovid-19 salgını, -devam eden ticaret savaşlarıyla birlikte düşünüldüğünde- iki ülke arasındaki uyuşmazlıkları derinleştirmiş ve ilişkileri kötüleştirmiştir. Aynı zamanda Trump’ın hakikat ötesi siyasetindeki yoğunlaşmayı yansıtan bu durumun, ABD iç siyasetiyle de yakından ilgisi olduğu tespit edilmiştir.

Keywords

• Trump
• Hakkiat Ötesi
• Twitter
• Çin
• Kovid 19

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