Media and conflict: An assessment of the evidence

Abstract

This article assesses the evidence used in arguments for the role of the media in conflict and post-conflict situations. It focuses on two broad areas within the literature. First, it examines literature on the contribution of media in war to peace transitions, including an assessment of the evidence used to show how the media may contribute to violent conflict and how they may provoke, or hinder, post-conflict reconstruction. Second, it assesses evidence used in arguments for the role new Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) such as the Internet and mobile phones may have in liberation or oppression in developing country contexts. Through reviewing some of the most significant papers that were systematically selected in a literature review on media and conflict, our findings suggest that there are serious gaps in the evidence and the majority of evidence is located in the ‘grey literature’ or policy documents. The article concludes by suggesting future research agendas to address these gaps.

In Search of Local Knowledge on ICTs in Africa

“…Using existing analyses of ICTs, this review seeks to understand whether there are 'local perspectives' and 'local knowledge' that are overlooked (or perhaps dismissed) by researchers. In addition, the review documents the evidence and assesses the basis for claims made, offering insight into the current state of the field and building on previous work looking at evidence around media and conflict (e.g., Schoemaker and Stremlau 2014). The countries that are the focus of this article, Kenya, Somalia, and Ethiopia, offer a comparative perspective on different approaches to ICT usage.…”

Roles of Media in Man-made Disasters: A Case of Protracted Conflict in South Sudan

“…According to Schoemaker and Stremlau (2014), media refers to an avenue for communicating a desired message to an individual or groups of people in a particular geographical area. In the context of this definition, the term communication is derived from a Latin word which means to share and includes the active transmission and reception of messages in form of words, sounds or images, or a combination of the three, which in the modern world also takes the form of digital information.…”

“…However, sufficient empirical evidence to confirm or reject claims that media promotes or prevents conflict is lacking. Besides, there is over reliance on anecdotal evidence to illustrate the media's positive impact on disaster management (Schoemaker & Stremlau, 2014). This poses the need to examine, analyze and expose the role of the media in conflict situations, especially in South Sudan.…”

The Fear Factor is a Main Thing: How Radio Influences Anxiety and Political Attitudes

“…Evidence that media adequately performs a prominent role in either peacebuilding or statebuilding is, however, weak (Schoemaker and Stremlau, 2014). Little empirical work has been done on the effects of media in conflict situations (Paluck and Green, 2009b); research into the statebuilding impact of radio is scarce.…”