"This book analyses the use of communication in resolving conflicts, with a focus on de-escalation and processes of peacebuilding and peace formation. From the employment of hate radio in the Rwanda genocide, to the current conflict between Russia and the Ukraine following events in the Crimea, comm
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unication and the media are widely recognized as powerful tools in conflicts and war. Although there has been significant academic attention on the relationship between the media, conflict and war, academic efforts to understand this relationship have tended to focus primarily on the links between communication and conflict, rather than on communication and peace. In order to make sense of peace it is essential to look at communication in its many facets, mediated or not. This is true within many of the diverse strands that make up the field of communication and peace, but it is also true in the sense that a holistic and interdisciplinary approach is missing from the literature. This book addresses this widely acknowledged lacuna by providing an interdisciplinary perspective on the field, bringing together relevant, but so far largely isolated, streams of research. In doing so, it aims to provide a platform for further reflection of the meaning of, and requirements for, peace in our contemporary world with a focus on de-escalation, conflict transformation, reconciliation and processes of peacebuilding - as opposed to conflict escalation or crisis intervention." (Publisher description)
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"The cases from B&H and Kosovo show that three straightforward regulatory practices can make a significant impact in a relatively short time. What is needed is an independent and legitimate regulator, a set of laws and guidelines against incendiary media, and an accompanying set of laws in protectio
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n of free speech. Obviously, this three-pronged framework does not constitute an entire regulatory regime for media. It cannot guarantee peace, but it can enable individuals at all levels of society to make better decisions about whether or not to support or participate in a conflict. The scope of regulatory practice in conflict must be seen as a long term process. On one hand, media regulation exists to prevent the escalation of conflict. On the other hand, it exists to maintain a media environment conducive to promotion of a functioning democratic society. Media democratization is a long-lasting process of legal reform and a purview of legal experts, and it usually evolves with the rest of the democratic processes. It requires legal, technical and even engineering expertise. The end goal of the process is to develop a modern regulatory framework for the media which supports and protects general media freedoms. In the short term, the initial phase of the media democratization process must be concerned with the prevention of conflict escalation and protection of media and their rights and freedoms." (Conclusion)
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"Since Galtung (1998) and Kempf (1996) outlined their first ideas of an alternative to conventional war reporting, their model(s) of “Peace Journalism” stimulated a broad debate among peace researchers and journalists, practical thought about how to achieve this type of journalism, and a large b
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ody of basic theoretical and empirical research. How the concept of peace journalism developed in the course of these studies is documented in the present book which contains a collection of papers from the years 1997-2009 that previously were only available in German, in hard to find sources and/or in electronic form." (Publisher description)
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"While the relationship between war and media is examined in literature, the cases of the positive use of mass communication channels in the reconciliation of post-conflict societies are virtually unknown. The goal of this study is to respond to the gap in literature by examining theoretical evidenc
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e and practical case studies describing media promotion of peace across the world. As a result, a total of 40 media projects in 18 countries are documented and two case studies are examined in detail. Initial lessons from the practical projects in conjunction with historical developments of media in wars suggest that the current practice would benefit from: integration of all available media channels and practices, incorporation of media into other social institutions and processes and regulation of hate media as well as production of peace-oriented media." (Abstract)
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"The media’s impact on the escalation of conflict is more widely recognized than the media’s impact on peacebuilding. Yet it is not uncommon to hear experts pronounce that the media’s impact on peacebuilding must be significant given its powerful impact on conflict. However, this simple relati
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onship must not be taken for granted and should be critically examined in order to most effectively use the media for conflict prevention and peacebuilding. There are ways the media can assist peacebuilding. The Global Partnership for the Prevention of Conflict’s Awareness Raising Toolkit (this document can be downloaded from www.gppac.net and www.peoplebuildingpeace.org) details, amongst other things, how to use the media. Knowing why and when to use the media for conflict prevention and peacebuilding is the focus of this issue paper." (Introduction, page 7)
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"Traditional media effects theories have an enormous potential to provide theoretical support for the study of media contributions to peace in a conflict environment. However, practitioners who implement projects in conflict situations rarely attempt to examine the effects of these projects on a par
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ticular conflict. Most practitioners assume that media must have the power to influence the development of peace in a conflict environment. Practitioners and authors assume that if media can motivate people to engage in conflict, they must also have the power to exert influence in the opposite direction, thus promoting peace. This study takes into consideration the most basic theories of media effects throughout the 20th century." (Abstract)
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"This study engages in the examination of the role of journalism in a time of violent conflict and explores the discourse that has come to be known under the umbrella term “peace journalism.” Through a case study of the Open Broadcast Network (OBN) coverage of the Bosnian conflict, the study ana
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lyzes the initial lessons learned from one of the original implementations of peace journalism precepts in violent conflict. As demonstrated by the fleeting and partial success of OBN, the news media can play a role in transformation of conflict but the feasibility and accomplishments of such practice depend upon a variety of variables." (Abstract)
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"This study analyzes media projects designed to contribute to the development of peace. Therefore, it examines post-Cold War mass communication projects developed in direct response to violent conflicts initiated by a party that is not involved in the conflict. The practical effort is named “peace
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media.”
The review of the literature from the fields of media effects, propaganda research, peace studies and communication for development offers a broad spectrum of studies pointing towards a common conclusion: mass media/communication indeed have the potential to affect populations in a variety of ways. The rhizomatic approach by Deleuze and Guattari was used as the theoretical foundation to the methods employed in the study. As a result, in-depth interviewing, text analysis and a quantitative effects assessment were used as the methods of inquiry. In order to fully understand the rhizomatic foundation of peace media, this study examined three kinds of data: interview transcripts, texts describing peace media projects and the quantitative data of audience effects conducted by practitioners.
Thirteen conflict sites in 18 countries generated a total of nearly forty peace media projects. The analysis begins with the description of the actors and practitioners responsible for peace media projects (who). It continues with an examination of media approaches to peace development (what), followed by a description of the beneficiaries of peace media (whom). The last two segments discuss the means of communication (channels) and examine the effects of peace media and the most effective utilization of such practices (effects). The study concludes that the impact of media is both substantial and limited. Because action or behavior is dependent on many outside variables and because these variables contribute to the end result as much as any form of communication initiative, only the true integration of media within peacebuilding strategies can insure a significant move toward a peaceful society. In order for this to happen, the following four components need to be integrated in the media plan for conflict transformation: journalism, entertainment, advertising and regulation. The final chapter of the dissertation presents a set of recommendations for the future practice." (Abstract)
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