Navigating the complexities of media roles in conflict: The INFOCORE approach

Abstract

The article draws on the first findings of the INFOCORE project to better understand the ways in which different types of media matter to the emergence, escalation or conversely, the pacification and prevention of violence. It makes the case for combining an interactionalist approach of media influence, which is centred on the effects of evidential claims, frames and agendas made by various actors over time, with greater sensitivity for the factors that make conflict cases so different. We argued that the specific role played by the media depends, chiefly, a) on the ways in which it transforms conflict actors' claims, interpretations and prescriptions into media content and b) their ability to amplify these contents and endow them with reach, visibility and consonance. We found significant variation in media roles across six conflict cases and suggest that they are best explained by four interlocking conditioning factors: (i) the degree to which the media landscape is diverse and free, or conversely, controlled and instrumentalised by conflict parties; (ii) societal attitudes to and uses of different media by audiences; (iii) different degrees of conflict intensity and dynamics between the conflict parties; (iv) the degree and nature of the involvement of regional and international actors. We argue that de-escalatory media influence will be most effective over the longer term, in settings of low intensity conflict and when tailored carefully to local conditions.

The search for common ground in conflict news research: Comparing the coverage of six current conflicts in domestic and international media over time

“…All selected cases are intra-state conflicts with at least some international dimension, ensuring diverse coverage both inside and beyond the concerned conflict area. At the same time, the cases differ with regard to the intensity of both violence and international involvement (Meyer et al, 2018). From the Western Balkans, we included the fragile peace in Kosovo (time range included: 1 January 2010 to 30 June 2015), which is marked by low levels of inter-ethnic violence and strong foreign involvement (by Serbia, the European Union, NATO); and the ethnic tensions in the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia (1 January 2011 to 30 June 2015), with slightly higher violence but weaker and more indirect international involvement.…”

A cog in a wheel? Journalism under pressure during coups d’état in Burkina Faso

“…Media's overall role in conflicts and its links with politics have been studied broadly (e.g. Meyer et al, 2018), in francophone Africa (see, e.g., Frère 2016Frère , 2022 and as part of country-specific research, such as the DRC (N'sana, 2021) and Burundi (Fierens and Rovetta, 2022). Scholars have also analysed popular reactions in Burkina Faso to the 2015 terrorist attacks (Kibora, 2019) and restrictions on freedom of expression about terrorism on social networks since 2015 (Dakuyo, 2023).…”

Framing of Armed Conflicts between the Two Nuclear States of South Asia

“…During conflicts of Bosnia and Rwanda in 1990's researchers concluded that media specifically emphasized on promoting conflicts while on the same hand it also endorsed the resolution of conflicts through dialogue (Schoemaker & Stremlau, 2014). The ways and mediums with which media construct contributes and spread information regarding conflict had also changed drastically over the decade (Meyer et al, 2017). Over the years, the ratio of internationalized conflicts causing destructiveness has seen a massive hit among countries.…”