Use and Abuse of Media in Vulnerable Societies: 1

UNITED STATES INSTITUTE OF PEACE www.usip.org SPECIAL REPORT 1200 17th Street NW • Washington, DC 20036 • 202.457.1700 • fax 202.429.6063 ABOUT THE REPORT Mark Frohardt and Jonathan Temin Across the globe, media have been used as tools to inflame grievances and accelerate the escalation towards violent conflict. In Rwanda, radio was used to lay the groundwork for genocide. In the Former Republic of Yugoslavia, television was manipulated to Use and Abuse of Media in stir ethnic tensions prior to civil war. In the former Soviet republic of Georgia, territorial disputes were exacerbated by the propagation of nationalist Vulnerable Societies mythology in the media. In light of this historical evidence, Internews Network, which fosters pluralistic independent media in emerging democracies and focuses its media development efforts on reducing conflict within and between countries, undertook an analysis of media Summary abuse by actors intent on inciting conflict. The results of the study, published here, are intended to help • Conventional media—radio, television, and newspapers—usually play a positive and media assistance organizations direct interventions to informative role in society. However, there are many documented cases of media where they can be most beneficial. being manipulated by actors intent on instigating violent conflict. The analysis was conducted by Mark Frohardt, •Analyzing the “clues to conflict” in vulnerable societies can enable policymakers to Internews Network regional director for Africa, and identify societies that are particularly vulnerable to media abuse and decide on the Jonathan Temin, Internews Network program associate. most appropriate type and timing of media interventions. For more information on this project, including case •These clues are divided into two categories. Structural indicators concern media out- studies, go to www.internews.org/mediainconflict. lets, media professionals, or government institutions concerned with media; these The views expressed in this report do not necessarily indicators can include media variety and plurality, degree of journalist isolation, and reflect views of the United States Institute of Peace, the legal environment for media. Content indicators concern content designed to cre- which does not advocate specific policies. ate fear (such as a focus on past atrocities and history of ethnic hatred) or content designed to create a sense of inevitability and resignation (such as discrediting alter- SPECIAL REPORT 110 OCTOBER 2003 natives to conflict). • In response to the clues to conflict, a number of opportunities for intervention are CONTENTS suggested. These media interventions fall into three categories: structural interven- Introduction 2 tions, such as strengthening domestic and international journalist networks; content- Clues to Conflict 3 specific interventions, such as issue-oriented training; and aggressive interventions, Structural Indicators 3 such as radio and television jamming. Content Indicators 6 • Early interventions are less expensive and more effective than later interventions, Opportunities for Intervention 8 because by the time media abuse is widespread there may be little or no recourse. Structural Interventions 8 •The international community should undertake four actions: media in vulnerable soci- Content-Specific Interventions 13 eties should be monitored; there should be greater collaboration between media orga- Aggressive Interventions 14 nizations and conflict resolution organizations; media organizations need to build a Recommendations 15 better case for monitoring and early intervention and need to encourage appropriate donor support; and a systematic review of media behavior in vulnerable societies should be conducted to enhance the international community’s understanding of this important dynamic. Introduction In the wake of the deadly and destructive civil conflicts so prominent in the 1990s, aca- demics and practitioners have increasingly focused on predicting and preventing civil con- ABOUT THE INSTITUTE flict, rather than responding to and recovering from it. Accordingly, there have been various methodologies developed to identify societies in which violent conflict is likely to occur, The United States Institute of Peace is an and significant research has been conducted into the root causes of civil conflict. That independent, nonpartisan federal institution analysis has focused on identifying and understanding such causal factors as economic created by Congress to promote the prevention, decline, longstanding grievances between groups, and the ethnic and religious make-up of management, and peaceful resolution of interna- society. But the use of the media to promote violent conflict has too often been devoted tional conflicts. Established in 1984, the Insti- insufficient attention. tute meets its congressional mandate through an This analysis focuses on the role of media in vulnerable societies, which are defined as array of programs, including research grants, societies highly susceptible to movement towards civil conflict and/or repressive rule. This fellowships, professional training, education often describes societies in developing countries and countries in transition, almost always programs from high school through graduate those struggling to make the transition from authoritarian to democratic government. It school, conferences and workshops, library ser- frequently describes multi-ethnic societies as well, which, over the past decade, have vices, and publications. The Institute’s Board of proven more likely to fall victim to conflict than societies with greater ethnic homogene- Directors is appointed by the President of the ity. Media can be manipulated in an effort to move a society toward conflict or toward non- United States and confirmed by the Senate. democratic rule. This analysis focuses specifically on the former, but recognizes that an equally thorough analysis could focus on the latter. BOARD OF DIRECTORS In contrast to active use of media outlets to promote conflict, media can also contribute to conflict involuntarily. Such passive incitement to violence most frequently occurs when Chester A. Crocker (Chairman), James R. Schlesinger journalists have poor professional skills, when media culture is underdeveloped, or when Professor of Strategic Studies, School of Foreign Service, there is little or no history of independent media. Under such circumstances journalists can Georgetown University • Seymour Martin Lipset (Vice inflame grievances and promote stereotypes by virtue of the manner in which they report, Chairman), Hazel Professor of Public Policy, George even though their intentions are not necessarily malicious and they are not being manip- Mason University • Betty F. Bumpers, Founder and ulated by an outside entity. Such a scenario is less common than that in which media are former President, Peace Links, Washington, D.C. actively manipulated, but it is no less dangerous. • Holly J. Burkhalter, Advocacy Director, Physicians for Perhaps media have generally been overlooked in analyses of conflict because, on their Human Rights, Washington, D.C. • Charles Horner, own, they are rarely a direct cause of conflict. Nonetheless, as part of a larger matrix of Senior Fellow, Hudson Institute, Washington, D.C. factors, media can be extremely powerful tools used to promote violence, as witnessed in • Stephen D. Krasner, Graham H. Stuart Professor of Rwanda, the former Republic of Yugoslavia, the former Soviet republic of Georgia, and else- International Relations, Stanford University where. As Jamie Metzl observes, “mass media reach not only people’s homes, but also their • Marc E. Leland, Esq., President, Marc E. Leland & minds, shaping their thoughts and sometimes their behavior” (“Information Intervention,” Associates, Arlington, Va. • Mora L. McLean, Esq., Foreign Affairs, November–December 1997, p. 15). President, Africa-America Institute, New York, N.Y. Media behavior can also provide indicators of impending conflict, as there are certain • María Otero, President, ACCION International, Boston, characteristics of media structure and media behavior that tend to precede conflict, some Mass. • Daniel Pipes, Director, Middle East Forum, evident early enough that a media intervention may be feasible. If preventing conflict is Philadelphia, Pa. • Barbara W. Snelling, former State the goal, then influential tools such as media must be closely examined, their pernicious Senator and former Lieutenant Governor, Shelburne, Vt. effects mitigated and positive output magnified. The various approaches to precluding or • Harriet Zimmerman, Vice President, American Israel stopping the use of media as a tool to promote division and conflict range from training Public Affairs Committee, Washington, D.C. journalists to advising legislators on drafting media legislation. But for such training or advising to be effective the role of media in moving societies toward or away from conflict MEMBERS EX OFFICIO needs to be clearly understood. Lorne W. Craner, Assistant Secretary of State for The remainder of this analysis is divided into two sections. The first section identifies Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor • indicators within media structure and content that may be used to inform policymakers and Michael M. Dunn, Lieutenant General, U.S. Air Force; media organizations as to which societies are especially vulnerable to abuse. The second President, National Defense University • section analyzes types and methods of media

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