Sro.Sussex.Ac.Uk
Total Page:16
File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb
A University of Sussex PhD thesis Available online via Sussex Research Online: http://sro.sussex.ac.uk/ This thesis is protected by copyright which belongs to the author. This thesis cannot be reproduced or quoted extensively from without first obtaining permission in writing from the Author The content must not be changed in any way or sold commercially in any format or medium without the formal permission of the Author When referring to this work, full bibliographic details including the author, title, awarding institution and date of the thesis must be given Please visit Sussex Research Online for more information and further details COMMUNICATING SOLIDARITY: THE CULTURAL POLITICS AND PRACTICES OF HUMANITARIAN NGO CAMPAIGNS RACHEL M. TAVERNOR UNIVERSITY OF SUSSEX JULY 2017 2 UNIVERSITY OF SUSSEX RACHEL MARY TAVERNOR SUBMITTED FOR THE DEGREE OF DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY COMMUNICATING SOLIDARITY: THE CULTURAL POLITICS AND PRACTICES OF HUMANITARIAN NGO CAMPAIGNS SUMMARY This thesis examines humanitarian activism facilitated by Non-Governmental Organisations (NGOs). Focusing on two coalition campaigns, ENOUGH FOOD IF (2013) and MAKE POVERTY HISTORY (2005), this thesis investigates how popular understandings of humanitarianism are promoted and understood in relation to the politics of poverty. Visual communication, including images, videos and infographics, is the site of investigations. By addressing visual communication in relation to protest campaigns, this thesis contributes new perspectives to a field that predominantly focuses on fundraising appeals. This thesis mobilises the concept of solidarity, as a descriptive and normative framework, to investigate the production, representation and participation enabled by communicative structures. The study begins by contextualising protest campaigns within a history of humanitarian communication. Secondly, the production of communicative spaces is critiqued using an analysis of campaign communication, internal campaign documents and 10 semi-structured interviews with NGO professionals. This analysis moves the debate beyond the content of the binary frame of ‘negative’ and ‘positive’ images. Instead, the dominant visuals mobilised by campaigns are discussed in relation to NGO practices and the terrain of inter/intra- organisational politics involved in the production of coalition campaigns. Humanitarian communication, this thesis argues, is shaped by relations of power between NGOs, governments and media institutions. Thirdly, based on an analysis of the campaigns’ digital spaces, 155 diary responses to a Mass Observation Directive and 8 in-depth interviews with young people, the practices of participation are explored. By listening to how people experience NGO communications, this thesis provides a contextualised understanding of the emotions, relationships and performances involved in communicating solidarity. Contributing to a gap in audience research, this study shows how people further mediate, negotiate and at times resist humanitarian narratives. KEYWORDS: Activism, Audiences, Humanitarian Communication, Poverty, Solidarity 3 CONTENTS ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ................................................................................................................... 7 STATEMENT ...................................................................................................................................... 8 TERMINOLOGY ................................................................................................................................. 9 PREFACE .......................................................................................................................................... 10 Part I: Theoretical Framings 1. INTRODUCTION ........................................................................................................................ 15 1.1. RESEARCH RATIONALE 1.2. SITES OF INVESTIGATION 1.3. CONTEXTUALISING HUMANITARIAN COMMUNICATION 1.4. STRUCTURE OF THESIS 2. THE POLITICS OF PRACTICING SOLIDARITY ..................................................................... 52 2.1. HUMANITARIAN SOLIDARITIES 2.2. LISTENING TO VISUAL VOICES 2.3. PRACTICING SOLIDARITY 2.4. CONCLUSIONS 3. METHODOLOGIES .................................................................................................................... 77 3.1. MAPPING THE METHODS 3.2. ROLE AS RESEARCHER 3.3. CONCLUSIONS Part II: Cultural Politics and Practices of Production 4. PERFORMANCES OF POVERTY AND PLACE ......................................................................... 99 4.1. PRODUCING PERFORMANCES 4.2. SPOTLIGHTS: CONTENT ANALYSES OF VISUAL COMMUNICATION 4.3. SPOTLIGHTS AND SHADOWS IN NGO CAMPAIGNS 4.4. CONCLUSIONS 4 5. NGOS’ CONTRAPUNTAL PRACTICES ................................................................................ 128 5.1. CIVIL SOCIETY COALITIONS 5.2. UK GOVERNMENT AS ALLY AND TARGET 5.3. MEDIA INSTITUTIONS AS ARBITER AND AMPLIFIER 5.4. CONCLUSIONS Part III: Cultural Politics and Practices of Participation 6. DIGITAL ARCHITECTURES AND ACTIONS ........................................................................ 163 6.1. DIGITAL ARCHITECTURES 6.2. FROM STARVING CHILDREN TO SATIRICAL SAVIOURS 6.3. PERFORMANCES OF PARTICIPATION 6.4. CONCLUSIONS 7. BEYOND COMPASSION FATIGUE ........................................................................................ 185 7.1. AGENCY OF AUDIENCES 7.2. SOLIDARITY IN LIQUID TIMES 7.3. JUSTICE, NOT CHARITY 7.4. CONCLUSIONS Part IV: Contributions to Theory and Practice 8. CONCLUSION .......................................................................................................................... 207 BIBLIOGRAPHY .............................................................................................................................. 211 APPENDICES .................................................................................................................................. 233 APPENDIX A: INTERVIEW MATERIALS ........................................................ 233 APPENDIX B: MASS OBSERVATION DIRECTIVE .......................................... 238 APPENDIX C: THE INCLUSION OF HUMAN RIGHTS ................................... 240 5 List of Illustrations FIGURE 0.1: Christmas, UK, December 1991 ........................................................................................... 9 FIGURE 0.2: Platform 2, Ghana, June 2008 ............................................................................................... 9 FIGURE 0.3: ‘Jesus. Adventures. Africa. Two worlds. One love. Babies. Beauty’, 2016 ............. 10 FIGURE 0.4: ‘Meet Lilly, and volunteer to SAVE Africa…’, 7 November 2014 ........................... 10 FIGURE 1.1: ‘A Starving Baby’ and ‘Our ‘Blockade’ has caused this’ Handbills, 1919 ................ 17 FIGURE 1.2: IF Campaign Engagement Model, 2013 ......................................................................... 32 FIGURE 1.3: Global Justice Now, Bradford Development Action Group, .................................... 36 FIGURE 1.4: War on Want, The Baby Killer Report, 1974 ............................................................... 36 FIGURE 1.5: Anti-Slavery Medallion (1787), Live Aid Badge (1985), IF Wristband (2013) .... 40 FIGURE 1.6: The Illustrative Guide: Code of Conduct on Images & Messages ............................ 46 FIGURE 2.1: Health Poverty Action 2015, Give a Healthy Gift (2015) .......................................... 60 FIGURE 2.2: Enough Food IF Transparency Web Page (2013) ....................................................... 69 FIGURE 2.3: East African Transport New Style, Adrian Allinson ................................................... 70 FIGURE 2.4: Make Poverty History One Click Advert (2005) .......................................................... 72 FIGURE 3.1: Social Media Recruitment Image ...................................................................................... 88 FIGURE 3.2: Interview Playing Cards ..................................................................................................... 90 FIGURE 3.3: White Band Wrapped Round St Mary’s Comprehensive School (2005) ................. 96 FIGURE 4.1: Producing a Performance .................................................................................................. 104 FIGURE 4.2: Content Analysis of Enough Food IF Campaign ........................................................ 107 FIGURE 4.3: Content Analysis of Make Poverty History Campaign ............................................. 108 FIGURE 4.4: Toddlers Video (2005), Make Poverty History Website .......................................... 113 FIGURE 4.5: Happy Mother’s Day Post, Enough Food IF Facebook (10 March 2013) ............ 115 FIGURE 4.6: Thank you, George (2013), Enough Food IF, World Vision .................................. 118 FIGURE 4.7: Saving lives with a click of the fingers, The Daily Telegraph (21 May 2005) ... 119 FIGURE 4.8: Enough Food IF YouTube Video, Myleene Klass, Philippines (2013) ................. 121 FIGURE 4.9: ‘We can help prevent these tragedies’, The Daily Mirror (18 February 2016) ... 122 FIGURE 4.10: Enough Food IF Hyde Park Rally, Research Photo, (8 June 2013) .................... 124 FIGURE 4.11: Hunger Summit secures £2.7bn as thousands rally at Hyde Park, (8 June 2013) ......................................................................................................................................................................... 126 6 FIGURE 5.1: