"Several UN peacekeeping operations communicate with the populations in their host state through radio, which remains the most popular medium in many countries. UN strategic communications via radio can help reduce violence against civilians, both during and after armed conflict. This protective eff
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ect of UN radio is evident even in areas where no UN military peacekeepers are deployed. There are four main ways that strategic communications by UN peacekeepers may reduce violence: (1) by building trust in the mission and enhancing cooperation with peacekeepers’ protection activities; (2) by filling gaps in reliable information that might otherwise be filled by misinformation that incites violence; (3) by fostering pro-peace behavioral change among ordinary civilians; and (4) by incentivizing rank-and-file combatants to exercise restraint.
There are many conditions that enhance the persuasiveness of UN strategic communications. Most crucially, messages are more effective when they are perceived as accurate and informative by local audiences. Moreover, narrative messages that are adapted to the local context can strengthen the persuasiveness of UN strategic communications. UN radio stations can leave a positive legacy for the protection of civilians even after peacekeeping operations have left if they transition into a local or regional media outlet. The radio stations that succeed UN radio stations once peacekeeping operations depart will be most likely to contribute to an information environment that protects rather than threatens civilians when NGOs guarantee their independence with continuous funding. Going forward, as the UN seeks to enhance strategic communications in peacekeeping operations, it must carefully manage several trade-offs. These include trade-offs between empowering civilians vs. exposing them to risk; ensuring that messaging is coherent vs. tailoring it to the local context; sustaining independent media vs. promoting national ownership; and expanding access to data vs. maintaining security and host-state consent." (Executive summary)
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"This book offers an in-depth view of how intricate and intractable conflicts can be and how the communicative aspects of conflict are equally challenging. The author reviews and guides readers through classic and contemporary analysis in the field, providing a truly interdisciplinary work. Handbook
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of Conflict and Peace Communication is divided into five navigable sections - Theory Development, Method Development, Traditional/Digital Media and Peace and Conflict, Case Studies, and Innovative Approaches - that help illuminate workable and innovative peace communication strategies relevant to today's conflicts. Readers will also find: informative contributions from a collection of outstanding scholars, practitioners, and activists; comprehensive explorations of past conflict communication theory in the context of contemporary theory; practical tools to navigate complex local and global conflicts; in-depth examinations of strategies of peace communication from the margins that acknowledge and elevate solutions for and from the most vulnerable." (Publisher description)
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"Based on qualitative and quantitative research conducted between May and August 2025, including interviews with journalists, media organisations, policymakers, and civil society activists, the report highlights how Sudan’s media environment has transformed into a “parallel battlefield” where
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information warfare runs alongside physical conflict. Key findings include:
- Collapse of traditional media: Print, radio, and television outlets have been decimated or repurposed as propaganda tools, with hundreds of journalists displaced or exiled.
- Rise of digital platforms: In the absence of reliable news, Sudanese citizens increasingly rely on social media, particularly Facebook, WhatsApp, and TikTok, for information, often encountering misinformation and hate speech.
- Weaponisation of media: Both the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and Rapid Support Forces (RSF) have systematically targeted independent journalism, using harassment, detention, and surveillance to suppress dissent.
- Exclusion and fragmentation: Marginalised groups face significant barriers to accessing information, exacerbated by poor connectivity and digital divides.
- Emerging resilience: Despite the challenges, exiled media initiatives are working to counter hate speech and uphold professional standards, though sustainability remains a major concern.
The report calls for urgent international support across four key areas: protection of journalists, capacity building, institutional strengthening, and independent funding. Without immediate intervention, Sudan risks losing an entire generation of media professionals and the infrastructure essential for democratic recovery and peacebuilding." (https://internews.org)
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"Is there a spillover effect in multiperspectivity regarding the Israeli-Palestinian conflict among Israeli and Palestinian undergraduate students that results from playing a social impact game about a different conflictual context? We examined whether playing Fact Finders (Cyprus conflict) and Peac
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eMaker (Israeli-Palestinian conflict) in a different order and whether playing only one of the two games impacts multiperspectivity regarding these conflicts. 203 Israeli and Palestinian students participated in a quasi-experimental pre-test post-test design. Israelis and Palestinians playing Fact Finders first developed significantly more multiperspectivity on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, than those playing PeaceMaker first. In addition, Israelis playing only Fact Finders developed significantly higher multiperspectivity regarding the Cyprus conflict and the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, unlike those playing only PeaceMaker. This is the first time multiperspectivity for direct parties to the conflict is observed for the Israeli/Palestinian conflict through digital games. Moreover, this is the first study to indicate a spillover effect in multiperspectivity from a different conflictual context to one’s own context. This research adds to our understanding of the effects of social impact games, suggesting that the multiperspectivity effect of the aforementioned games may extend well beyond a specific conflictual context." (Abstract)
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"Cet ouvrage scientifique, rigoureux et captivant explore ainsi les nombreuses facettes de la violence – telle qu’elle est médiatisée ou exprimée à travers des études sociologiques, des œuvres littéraires, musicales, historiques, culturelles et archivistiques, ou encore dans des TIC –,
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révélant les dynamiques complexes à l’origine de ces représentations. En adoptant une approche analytique minutieuse et poussée, cette étude examine comment la violence postcoloniale, sous ses diverses formes, influence les relations interpersonnelles contemporaines en Afrique et déclenche des conflits à plus ou moins grande échelle. En outre, les deux chercheurs ne dressent pas seulement un état des lieux de l’impact de la violence sur le continent, mais proposent des solutions concrètes pour limiter l’expression et la diffusion de cette violence, en transmettant un message de paix et de vivre-ensemble sur le continent." (Dos de couverture)
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"This article explores how Palestinian and Kashmiri civilians engage with the everyday reality of war. The focus is on understanding how citizens temporarily adopt the roles of war correspondents, contributing to the broader conflict narrative. Employing an inductive approach, the study integrates e
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thnography, phenomenology, and reflexive thematic analysis (RTA) to gain insights into how citizen journalists shape war narratives. Analysing the interview data through RTA reveals six key themes: “Emerging citizen journalism practices,” “Community Consciousness,” “Challenges in media perception,” “Self-expression and Social cohesion,” Responding to Authoritarian Falsehoods”, “Teen journalism”, and “Self-protection and safety”. The findings suggest that the citizen journalism practices in Palestine and Kashmir strategically report the war narratives, representing a progressive journalism practice. The results underline that citizen journalism practices in these regions purposefully present war narratives and represent a form of constructive journalism, which responds to authoritarian regimes’ extensive control over mainstream media and facilitates reconciliation and peace. Such citizen journalism practices act as an equipoise to data imbalances in information architecture for the consumers. The research underscores how conflict citizen journalism embodies activist and collaborative models with robust potential for replication in other conflict-ridden areas." (Abstract)
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"Simbabwes Präsident Emmerson Mnangagwa verspricht, die Massaker an Zehntausenden Ndebele vor rund 40 Jahren aufarbeiten zu lassen. Überlebende dieses sogenannten Gukurahundi sehen dafür nur wenige Anzeichen." (Einführung)
"Perpetrators in Documentaries on Genocide is a wide-ranging comparative study that analyses how numerous genocides and their perpetrators have been presented in documentary film. Spanning seven 20th-century genocides across three continents and combining interviews with filmmakers, distant reading,
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content analysis, and historical research, this book tracks the multifaceted representational strategies of over 200 films. Addressing both the local and global contexts impacting their production, the book finds that the socio-political circumstances in the aftermath of genocide, but also the concept of genocide itself, enormously shape the representation of perpetrator groups and their victims. This book highlights and critiques dominant trends in documentary representation, proposing a broader and methodologically innovative approach to studying the depiction of atrocities that provides an encompassing framework for understanding genocide documentaries." (Publisher description)
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"1994 kam es in Ruanda zu einem Völkermord, bei dem radikale Angehörige der Bevölkerungsgruppe der Hutus innerhalb von drei Monaten Hundertausende Menschen aus der Tutsi-Minderheit wie auch viele gemäßigte Hutus umbrachten. Gut 30 Jahre später gilt Ruanda vor allem in Europa und den USA als Vo
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rbild für erfolgreiche Vergangenheitsaufarbeitung, politische Stabilität und wirtschaftlichen Aufstieg in der Region. Wie ist diese Entwicklung innerhalb von drei Jahrzehnten gelungen? Entspricht das Bild vom afrikanischen Vorzeigestaat tatsächlich der Realität? Der Völkerrechtler Gerd Hankel zeigt, dass die Lage komplexer und widersprüchlicher ist. Er schildert die bereits gewaltvolle Vorgeschichte und den Verlauf des Genozids, die anschließenden Bemühungen um juristische Aufarbeitung und einen politischen und wirtschaftlichen Neustart. Dabei wird deutlich, dass das offizielle Narrativ einer umfassenden, unabhängigen Aufklärung und Ahndung der Verbrechen sowie gesellschaftlicher Aussöhnung in deutlichem Widerspruch zur Wahrnehmung eines Großteils der ruandischen Bevölkerung steht. Der langjährige Präsident Paul Kagame setze auf massive staatliche Repression, um Deutungsautorität herzustellen und kritische Stimmen zum Schweigen zu bringen. Davor, dass Unrecht und Fortschritt in Ruanda parallel existierten, mahnt Hankel, sollte die internationale Gemeinschaft nicht die Augen verschließen." (Verlagsbeschreibung)
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"This study discusses the use of TikTok during the war that began with the Russian attack on Ukraine in February 2022. TikTok has been the fastest growing social media channel and is known for its young user base. Although associated with lifestyle and light entertainment, it also become an importan
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t arena in the war. Young people abroad used TikTok to obtain information about the conflict and to comment on or share it. This article presents a case study of five young Ukrainian women who captured the attention and sympathy of international audiences via TikTok. The authors study how the women succeeded as influencers and the variety of roles they took on in their performances. For the latter, they suggest a classification scheme for war influencer roles. In addition, they analyse data on the reactions from their audiences, as they appeared in the comments field. In a longer discussion section, the article goes deeper into the gender dimension of war and social media, as well as the possibilities of cosmopolitanism or affective publics. Finally, the authors suggest directions for future research." (Abstract)
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"The study examines Global Times’ strategic narratives on the Russia-Ukraine War (2022–2024) by analysing 301 articles through issue, identity and systemic frameworks. It reveals China’s framing of the conflict as a US-Russia proxy war, positioning itself as a neutral mediator advocating multi
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lateral dialogue while critiquing Western hegemony. The narratives portray Russia as a rational actor defending sovereignty, Ukraine as weakened yet reckless, and Europe-EU as internally fractured. Systemically, China projects a multipolar vision, blending realist power dynamics with idealist peace-building. The findings underscore China’s media diplomacy in contesting Western discourse and advancing its global governance agenda." (Abstract)
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"In Latin America, the production of telenovelas and TV series about the region's recent and traumatic past has grown considerably in the last 20 years, affecting societal perceptions of the past, historical consciousness, and political culture. While these TV products are usually perceived as trivi
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al, they do provide a historical framework to a wide audience, which finds it easier to relate to the national past through fiction than through history books, journalistic articles or documentaries. Latin America’s Contested Pasts in Telenovelas and TV Series analyzes the historical culture of Latin American society embodied in telenovelas and TV series from the 1960s to this day. It compiles regional case studies on the televised representation of 20th-century dictatorships in Chile, Argentina, and Brazil, as well as the war against drug trafficking and the armed conflict in Colombia. Highlighting the political and social relevance of fictional television, the contributions offer interdisciplinary insights into its discourses and narratives, from the heroization of criminals to the search for reconciliation and the construction of a historical memory." (Publisher description)
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"Wie gestaltet sich das Zusammenspiel von Vergangenheitsarbeit, Friedensförderung, Kunst und Kultur in der internationalen Zusammenarbeit der Bundesrepublik? Welche Verbindungen bestehen zwischen dem eigenen Umgang mit gewaltbelasteter Vergangenheit und der Unterstützung dieser Prozesse im Ausland
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– und welche Chancen und Herausforderungen ergeben sich daraus für die dritte Säule der deutschen Außenpolitik, die Auswärtige Kultur- und Bildungsspolitik (AKBP) (im Folgenden der Lesbarkeit halber Auswärtige Kulturpolitik) die sich selbst als „Teil der Friedenspolitik“ (Bundesregierung 2020: 8) versteht? Diesen Fragen geht der vorliegende Artikel nach. Er beleuchtet zunächst das im internationalen Kontext für Vergangenheitsarbeit geläufige Konzept von Transitional Justice, seine Entstehung, Entwicklung in der Praxis und seine Einbettung in deutsches wie internationales Friedensengagement. Dabei geht er auch auf die deutsche Aufarbeitungsgeschichte, Unterschiede und Gemeinsamkeiten mit Transitional Justice-Prozessen sowie aktuelle Entwicklungen ein. Schließlich wird aufgezeigt, welche Überschneidungen zwischen Auswärtiger Kulturpolitik und Vergangenheitsarbeit bereits jetzt bestehen, welche Potenziale die Auswärtige Kulturpolitik hat und wie Synergien zwischen Auswärtiger Kulturpolitik, Vergangenheitsarbeit und Friedensförderung gestärkt werden können." (Seite 2)
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"Within [the radio debate programme) Patara, there was no explicit intention to reach a final conclusion on any given issue. The overall aim of the Ndeke Luka’s debate was to display arguments from different angles about certain specific matters without necessarily having to reach unanimous agreem
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ent among the participants. Clashing and diverging views of how peace should be built and reached were portrayed. It is significant that a radio station dedicated a weekly programme to gathering opposing viewpoints and bringing together actors who had been excluded from the formal, official peace talks in Khartoum. Despite being unofficial, this forum provided by Ndeke Luka drew its strength from being an accessible, “open door” arena. [...] Within the precepts of the editorial line of radio Guira, journalists made no specific allusion to any armed group or armed leader, unless they were engaged in a UN or governmental effort to disarm. This could imply a “safety” measure to avoid any political attrition between the UN and the government. Considering that the UN mission is allowed to be in the country because the hosting government accepts its presence, and that the UN mandate aims at supporting the building of state institutions, it is not surprising that the need to partner with official authorities in all dimensions was present in Le Debat. The challenge for a radio broadcast from a UN media was not to use a bellicose rhetoric. On a final note, distinct perspectives of the processes of “peacebuildings,” in plural, were conveyed by these two radio stations. The term in its plural form is hereby endorsed in order to acknowledge that different perspectives of peacebuilding can and should coexist in the public arena. These multiple understandings sometimes complemented one another and sometimes clashed. It is, in fact, necessary and crucial that numerous views of “peacebuildings” publicly circulate as a way of engaging citizens and communities to collectively discuss the transformation of their realities." (Concluding remarks, pages 14-15)
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"Fragen nach israelbezogenem Antisemitismus stellen sich in Ländern, die sich teilweise im Kriegszustand mit Israel befinden oder – wie Libanon, Irak, Saudi-Arabien und Katar – keine offiziellen Kontakte zu Israel unterhalten, anders dar als in Ländern wie Deutschland. Die hierzulande präsent
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e Diskussion um Israelkritik in Form und Inhalt spielt in den arabischen Leitmedien keine Rolle. Vor diesem Hintergrund ist dann auch die in Deutschland vorherrschende Problematisierung von Begriffen wie "vom Fluss zum Meer", Genozid und Apartheid im Zusammenhang mit dem Nahost-Konflikt in der arabischsprachigen Öffentlichkeit nicht relevant. Hier sind die arabischen Leitmedien eher dem internationalen Presse- und Wissenschaftsdiskurs und der juristischen Auseinandersetzung mit dem Nahostkonflikt (Internationaler Gerichtshof, Internationaler Strafgerichtshof) näher.
Weder Vernichtungsfantasien gegen Israel noch platte monokausale Argumentationen spielen in den arabischen Leitmedien eine dominierende Rolle – gleichwohl gibt es natürlich auch israelfeindliche Beiträge. Wiederum gehören – auch staatliche – israelische Stimmen zum "Informationsbuffet" der arabischen Medien. Häufig wird auch die Rolle des Westens kritisiert und dessen Haltung als einseitig angeprangert. Immer wieder wird Gaza mit der von Russland angegriffenen Ukraine verglichen und die Unterschiede in der Positionierung insbesondere der USA und europäischer Staaten als Doppelmoral kritisiert. Traditionelle antisemitische Diskurse, wie sie Shaykh Qaradawi vor 15 Jahren auf Al Jazeera pflegte, sind in der aktuellen Debatte der arabischen Leitmedien dagegen selten.
Vielfach ist ein Verlautbarungsjournalismus zu beobachten, der Vertretern und Sprechern der verschiedenen Konfliktparteien Raum für ihre medienwirksamen Äußerungen gibt. Gleichzeitig wird die Entwicklung der Kampfhandlungen und der politischen Lage durch eine Art Verlaufsjournalismus begleitet, in dem politische Analysten und auch Militärexperten das Tagesgeschehen darstellen und einordnen.
Palästinensische Perspektiven und Anliegen werden in den Medien des arabischen Raums stärker gewichtet als in Europa. Das ist naheliegend und insofern nachvollziehbar. Die Darstellung und auch die Interpretation der Ereignisse könnte sich dennoch auch im hoch emotionalen Kontext des aktuellen Gaza-Krieges durch mehr Neutralität und Ausgewogenheit auszeichnen. Insgesamt dreht sich die Berichterstattung über den Gaza-Konflikt aber vor allem um die Entwicklungen auf dem Schlachtfeld und um territoriale Ansprüche, Antisemitismus spielt dagegen eine eher untergeordnete Rolle. Wie die Berichterstattung jenseits der Leitmedien, insbesondere in den Medien der jeweiligen politischen Gruppierungen und in den Social-Media-Kanälen aussieht, bleibt in diesem Zusammenhang aber unbeantwortet und muss an einem anderen Ort geklärt werden." (Fazit)
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"This handbook provides a comprehensive review of research in conflict and peace communication and offers readers a range of insights into foundational, ongoing, and emerging discussions in this field. The volume brings together peace studies, conflict studies, and communication studies to acknowled
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ge the power of communication - both cooperative, solidarizing, and integrative as well as destructive and divisive - in constituting social relations. It features a multiplicity of authors, including academics and practitioners from all corners of the globe and from across the communicative spectrum. This handbook is divided into four parts: (1) Metatheoretical, theoretical, and methodological approaches in conflict and peace communication research; (2) Conflict communication; (3) Peace communication; and (4) Crosscutting and emergent themes." (Publisher description)
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"Die audiovisuelle Plattform TikTok bildet mittlerweile einen relevanten Aushandlungsort für soziale Gruppen aller Art. User*innen bietet sich die Möglichkeit, eigene Räume für Vernetzung zu schaffen und Identitätsmanagement zu betreiben. Aufgrund der Plattformaffordanzen – vor allem Multimod
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alität –bieten sich in der Theorie die Möglichkeit, auch dissente Diskurse über die eigenen Netzwerke hinaus zu teilen. So können auch geschichtsbezogene Inhalte, die beispielsweise den Holocaust delegitimieren oder Adolf Hitler heroisieren, ein Publikum jenseits der eigenen Ingroup erreichen. Der interdisziplinär gestaltete Beitrag möchte aus geschichtswissenschaftlicher Perspektive die Praktik der vergangenheitsbezogenen Hate Speech im Spannungsfeld von (Gegen-)Öffentlichkeiten in den Blick nehmen. Für die Untersuchung des Beobachtungsgegenstands auf der Plattform selbst wurde ein explorativer Zugang mit dem thematischen Fokus auf #Holocaust gewählt. Die daraus resultierenden Feldnotizen wurden mittels einer induktiven Inhaltsanalyse bearbeitet. Im Kontext dieser Betrachtung zeigt sich, dass Nutzer*innen auf multimodale Formate der Plattform zurückgreifen, um eigene Themen zu setzen und Netzwerke aufzubauen. Es wurden drei wesentliche Ebenen ausgemacht: (1) die Ebene der Kommentare, (2) die Ebene der Videos und (3) die Ebene der vernetzenden Medienhandlungen. Es zeigt sich, dass die Grenzen zwischen Öffentlichkeit(en) und Gegenöffentlichkeit(en) auf der Plattform flexibel sind und mäandern." (Abstract)
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"This joint report from OpenMinds and the Digital Forensic Research Lab (DFRLab) analyzes the activity of a network of 3,634 automated accounts that posted pro-Russian comments on Telegram channels between January 2024 and April 2025 targeting Ukrainian populations inside Russian-occupied territorie
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s. These accounts crafted tailored messages to target the occupied territories, differentiating their content from that aimed at other audiences across Russia and Ukraine. Our investigation found that automated Telegram comments targeting local audiences in Ukraine fell into three overarching categories: pro-Russian propaganda, anti-Ukrainian propaganda, and abstract anti-war messaging and calls for peaceful coexistence. Individual narratives were often tailored to respond to current events and changes in local conditions, such as power or water outages, but there was also evidence of proactive narratives initiated by the network unrelated to external events.
The bot network used similar messaging when targeting channels based in Russia; however, a significantly larger share of comments targeting the occupied territory channels emphasized positive portrayals of Russian culture and government. Across the sixty-nine narrative themes identified (see appendix), the bot network pushed essentially the same menu of talking points in both Russia-wide and occupied territory channels. What differentiates the content aimed at the occupied territories from that aimed at a wider Russian audience is the proportion of talking points: themes that praised Russian culture, social services, and governance dominated in occupied territory-based channels, accounting for a markedly higher share of content than in Russia-based channels. The pattern points to an effort to cultivate the appearance of local consensus in favor of occupation and Russian administrative control, but not necessarily to create genuine agreement." (Executive summary)
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