commbox Conflicts, Peace & Religion

Conflicts, Peace & Religion

Filter

Sort by:

Direction:

Download (7)

Religion, Hate Speech and Social Media in Myanmar: Analysing Methods of Intervention

Bethany Davis

University of Winchester, Master Thesis (2015), 77 pp.

"Myanmar is home to one of the longest running intrastate conflicts in the world, involving a series of ethnic and religious clashes that have caused harm to all parties involved. The ideology of a homogeneity based on Buddhism and the Bamar ethnicity has marginalized minority groups, which make up ... more

Download (3)

Community Information Flows to Reduce Inter-Communal Violence in Burma

Emily Speers Mears et al.

Search for Common Ground (2015), 71 pp.

"The research presented in this report aims to contribute towards a better understanding of the way in which rumors, hate speech, and manipulated information contribute to inter-communal conflict and outbreaks of inter-communal violence in Myanmar. It focuses on Muslim-Buddhist inter-communal confli ... ct in one urban and one peri-urban area: Lashio, the largest town in Shan state, and Amarapura, a former capital on the outskirts of Mandalay [...] People in Lashio and Amarapura draw upon a wide range of sources for information and news. They mainly obtain information by word of mouth from friends, colleagues, people who travel for their work, and figures of authority. They share this information by phone and online messaging services, and in markets, teashops and pagodas, as well as other places where people gather such as bus stations. Certain individuals in the community are regarded as trustworthy sources of information including religious leaders, teachers, bosses, government officials, and community leaders. Many people also have access to news applications on Facebook, and/or read journals and newspapers, listen to the radio, and watch TV in order to find out about news that affects them. People report a high level of skepticism about the news that they hear, particularly from sources like Facebook and government newspapers. They analyze not only the information itself but also the source of that information, and check whether it is accurate with people who live in the affected area, or by going to see for themselves. Family members or trusted community members are also consulted to verify or analyze news and information. Respondents also claim to try to verify information by checking different news sources. The more they can cross-reference, the more confident they are that the information is accurate. [...] The causes of inter-religious inter-communal conflict in Myanmar are not well understood. There is a long history of Muslim settlement in Myanmar, and of peaceful relations between Muslims and Buddhists. This changed with the arrival of the British, whose colonial policies brought an influx of Indians, including Muslims, to Myanmar. Specifically anti-Muslim (rather than anti-Indian) tensions first came to a head in 1938; however an inquiry into the anti-Muslim riots of that time found that while the riots had religious anti-Muslim undertones, the real causes were political, economic and social. There have been irregular outbreaks of anti-Muslim violence in subsequent decades, but unfortunately few detailed investigations or analyses of their causes, due to the difficulty of conducting research under the socialist and military governments, and to the sensitivity of the issue. This difficulty persists to the present. [...] Both Muslims and Buddhists are worried about religious violence, and the impact that it might have on the economy. However, most people in Lashio are probably more immediately worried about the fighting between the Tatmadaw and the ethnic armed groups that is taking place outside of Lashio, which has negative effect on the economy, on their livelihoods, and on their feelings of security, due to the numbers of internally displaced persons (IDPs) who have sought safety in Lashio. Ethnic groups in Lashio are concerned that the religious conflict will also have an impact on ethnic relations, due to the different religions amongst the ethnic groups. In Lashio, there is also a high level of anti-Chinese sentiment on the part of the Bamar and other ethnic groups. [...] The large amount of rumors about Muslims and about Muslim-Buddhist conflict that we heard in Lashio and Amarapura suggest that people are concerned about this conflict. Negative rumors contribute to the background levels of hatred and distrust of Muslims and serve to manifest tensions between the two communities. This kind of background hatred and distrust may not in itself result in violence. But it means that Buddhists and Muslims in these areas do not mix, and fosters an environment of suspicion and hostility, creating an enabling environment for violence. However, on their own, rumors are not sufficient to trigger violence. For every example of a situation where (true or false) rumors have triggered violence, there is an example where rumors have not triggered violence. Other factors – harder to identify – contribute to outbreaks of violence, and to the underlying conflict. It is essential that these factors be understood if the root causes of inter-communal conflict are to be addressed. KEY RECOMMENDATIONS With this analysis in mind, the following recommendations are provided: recognize the important role that word-of-mouth communication plays in the ways that rumors are spread; recognize and understand the nuances in each local context, in order to develop a deeper understanding of why people feel insecure, as well as to identify root causes of the conflict; mitigate the background levels of anti-Muslim hate speech, by engaging with the genuine Buddhist concerns that are expressed through hate speech; and strengthen community resilience to potential ‘trigger’ rumors – and recognize and strengthen existing efforts to combat these rumors." (Executive summary, page 3-7) more

External Link (41)

Gerechter Friede

Bonn: Deutsche Bischofskonferenz, Sekretariat, 4th ed. (2014), 168 pp.

"Das Bischöfliche Wort „Gerechter Friede“ vom 27.09.2000 ist das Grundlagendokument, die „Magna Charta“ der katholischen Friedensethik in Deutschland. Hatte das Vorgängerdokument „Gerechtigkeit schafft Frieden“ (1983) die Friedensgefährdung in der Epoche des „Kalten Krieges“ zum T ... more

Download (3)

Deconstructing Terror: Assessing Media’s Role in Religious Intolerance and Radicalisation

Amos Kibet

Nairobi: Media Council of Kenya (2014), xiii, 52 pp.

"The study examined various sampled media content and interviewed key informants to understand professional and ethical considerations informing media coverage of terror, religious extremism and radicalisation. From the findings, it is evident that the media somehow contributes to the propagation of ... more

Download (3)

Éthique de la non-violence: Études sur Jésus selon les évangiles

Kahwa Njojo

Geneva: Globethics.net (2014), 592 pp.

Download (2)

Reporting on Interreligious and Interethnic Tensions: The Meaning Behind the Headlines, 2013

Ljubomir Jakimovski (ed.)

Skopje: School of Journalism and Public Relations; Institute for Communication Studies (2013), 161 pp.

"The quantitative content analysis identified the amount and the patterns of media reporting on delicate interethnic and interfaith issues, focusing on respect of different aspects of professional and ethical standards. The method of Critical Discourse Analysis is applied for the qualitative analysi ... more

Google Scholar (51)

WorldCat (50)

Religion, Gewalt und Medien: Die serbisch-orthodoxe Kirchenpresse in den postjugoslawischen Kriegen

Irena Zeltner Pavlovic

Erlangen: Christliche Publizistik Verlag (CPV) (2013), 428 pp.

Google Scholar (44)

WorldCat (40)

Kommt und seht: Berichte aus Palästina und Israel

Hamburg: Evangelisches Missionswerk in Deutschland (EMW) (2012), 144 pp.

Google Scholar (49)

WorldCat (44)

Steht auf für Gerechtigkeit: Arbeitsbuch zum Weltgebetstag Malaysia 2012. Ideen und Informationen

Petra Heilig (ed.)

Stein: Deutsches Weltgebetstagskomitee (2012), 269 pp.

External Link (49)

Google Scholar (59)

WorldCat (51)

Reporting on Religious Authority Complicit with Atrocity

Paul A. Soukup

In: The Handbook of Global Communication and Media Ethics

Robert S. Fortner, Mark Fackler (eds.)

Chichester: Wiley Blackwell (2011), pp. 774-784

Download (2)

Framing Religious Conflict: Primordialism Writ Large

Steve Sharp

Asia Pacific Media Educator, issue 21 (2011), pp. 1-23

"Is there a dynamic correspondence between the unfolding of media narratives about conflict and how that conflict plays out on the ground? In particular, can this question be applied productively to the Maluku wars, an outbreak of religious violence at the end of Indonesia’s long developmentalist ... more

External Link (44)

Crónicas: Premio Nacional de Paz

Marta Ruiz (ed.)

Bogotá: Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung en Colombia (FESCOL) (2010), x, 214 pp.

"Justamente el Premio Nacional de Paz surge como un reconocimiento a la paz y la reconciliación que se construyen desde la base, en lo local, y no a la paz maximalista, tan esquiva como errática en el país. Hay que reconocer que muchos de estos proyectos han estado animados, abiertamente o tras e ... more

Google Scholar (52)

WorldCat (51)

Religion Macht Frieden: Das Friedenspotenzial von Religionen in politischen Gewaltkonflikten
Deep Insights

Markus A. Weingardt

Bonn: Bundeszentrale für politische Bildung (bpb) (2010), 480 pp.

External Link (52)

Zur ambivalenten Rolle von Religion in afrikanischen Gewaltkonflikten

Matthias Basedau, Peter Körner

Osnabrück: Deutsche Stiftung Friedensforschung (DSF) (2009), 48 pp.

"Die Rolle von Religion in subsaharischen Gewaltkonflikten stellt ein weitgehend vernachlässigtes Forschungsfeld dar, besonders was generalisierende empirische Studien angeht. Eine von der DSF finanzierte Pilotstudie zur Ambivalenz von Religion in Gewaltkonflikten – der ein umfangreicheres Vorhab ... en folgen soll – näherte sich der Thematik zunächst auf Grundlage einer umfangreichen Bibliographie, der Würdigung des Forschungsstandes und der Entwicklung von Forschungshypothesen an. Mittels der Analyse von vier Variablenclustern, nämlich a) konfliktspezifischen Merkmalen (wie Dauer, Intensität, Konfliktprävalenz), b) klassischen risk factors (wie Armut, ethnische Zersplitterung, vorherige Konflikte), c) religionsdemographischen Merkmalen (wie Anteile und Polarisierungsgrad von Gruppen) und d) Variablen, welche die Rolle von Religion in Gewaltkonflikten beschreiben (wie religiös motivierte Gewalt- oder Friedensaufrufe/Friedensinitiativen, Überlappung von religiösen Identitäten mit Konfliktlinien, Verbindungen von Konfliktparteien und religiösen Organisationen) wurden qualitative fact sheets für 28 Konfliktfälle erstellt und in einer Datenbank erfasst, um sie auch für Korrelationsanalysen und makroqualitative Vergleichsverfahren analysefähig zu machen. Auf der deskriptiven Ebene bestätigen die Datenbankanalysen eindrucksvoll die Ambivalenz religiöser Faktoren in Gewaltkonflikten: In 19 von 28 Fällen konnten eskalierende und deeskalierende Elemente entdeckt werden, in sechs weiteren Fällen ausschließlich Deeskalation. Religion spielt damit in insgesamt 25 der 28 Fälle und damit weitaus häufiger eine Rolle als gemeinhin angenommen, auch wenn theologische Inhalte bzw. Ideen in maximal acht Fällen als Teilursachen in Betracht kommen (v.a. Sudan, Nordnigeria und Somalia). Bivariate Analysen und makroqualitative Vergleiche zeigen, dass zahlreiche religiöse Variablen einen signifikanten Einfluss auf die Konfliktwahrscheinlichkeit nach 1990 bzw. auf das Andauern des Konflikts haben (bei der Konfliktintensität sind die Ergebnisse nicht robust und für die Konfliktdauer gibt es keine Zusammenhänge). Die Überlappung religiöser und anderer Identitäten erweist sich als ähnlich einflussreich und signifikant wie Verbindungen von religiösen Organisationen und Konfliktparteien sowie der eskalierende Gebrauch religiöser Ideen durch religiöse und politische Führer (v.a. Gewaltaufrufe). Obwohl Friedensaufrufe und -initiativen häufiger beobachtbar sind, kann für sie – ebenso wie für die Existenz interreligiöser Netzwerke – kein positiver Einfluss auf Frieden festgestellt werden. Nicht-religiöse Risikofaktoren ergeben dagegen starke Zusammenhänge (v.a. Einkommen, vorheriger Konflikt, ethnische Fragmentierung), die insgesamt etwas stärker sind als die Korrelationen mit religiösen Faktoren. Unterstützung gibt es schließlich für eine „Mobilisierungsthese“: Makroqualitative Vergleiche zeigen, dass religiös begründete Gewaltaufrufe besonders dann wahrscheinlich sind, wenn religiöse mit anderen sozialen Identitäten und den Konfliktlinien parallel verlaufen und Beziehungen zwischen den Konfliktparteien und religiösen Organisationen bestehen." (Zusammenfassung) more

Download (2)

Running Radio Selam: Constraints Facing an Ethiopian Peace Radio Project

Tarjei Kidd Olsen

Oslo: University of Oslo, Master Thesis in Peace and Conflict Studies (2009), 143 pp.

"I have primarily looked at how Radio Selam, an Ethiopian peace radio programme run by the local Ethiopian Evangelical Church Mekane Yesus (EECMY), might have been constrained by four spheres of influence. The spheres I looked at encapsulated certain organizational, individual, economic and politica ... more

Google Scholar (50)

WorldCat (48)

Media, Religion, and Conflict

Lee Marsden, Heather Savigny (eds.)

Farnham et al.: Ashgate (2009), xxiv, 168 pp.

Download (1)

Religion, Conflict & Peacebuilding

USAID (2009), 32 pp.

Google Scholar (52)

WorldCat (47)

Die Globalisierung religiöser Gewalt: Von christlichen Milizen bis al-Qaida

Mark Juergensmeyer

Bonn: Bundeszentrale für politische Bildung (bpb) (2009), 485 pp.

External Link (58)

Google Scholar (51)

WorldCat (49)

Dschihadismus: Materialien

Rüdiger Lohlker

Wien: Facultas wuv (2009), 248 pp.

"Eine Auswahl bestimmter dschihadistischer Dokumente, hier erstmals ins Deutsche übersetzt und wissenschaftlich kommentiert, geben einen Einblick in den Diskurs der dschihadistischen Bewegungen. Es werden Diskussionen aus Onlineforen wiedergegeben, Gedichte bzw. anaschid (agitatorische Lieder), die ... more

Download (5)

Pursuing Just Peace: An Overview and Case Studies for Faith-Based Peacebuilders

Mark M. Rogers, Tom Bamat, Julie Ideh (eds.)

Baltimore: Catholic Relief Services (CRS) (2008), 158 pp.

"The volume begins with a general overview of faith-based peacebuilding by pastor and peace-practitioner David Steele. Several CRS staff members provided input on the early drafts [...] The case studies that follow all deal with initiatives involving Catholic actors. This is the tradition out of whi ... more

Religion Macht Frieden: Das Friedenspotenzial von Religionen in politischen Gewaltkonflikten Deep Insights

Religion Macht Frieden: Das Friedenspotenzial von Religionen in politischen Gewaltkonflikten
Deep Insights