Document details

Communicating Citizens' Protests, Requiring Public Accountability: Case Studies from Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina and Macedonia

Sarajevo: Mediacentar (2016), 384 pp.

ISBN 978-9958-584-13-8

"In the recent years, we have witnessed several protests, initiatives and social uprisings in the SEE region, through which the citizens demanded for government accountability, suggested better policy solutions and promoted better citizen participation. Regional research “Communicating citizens' protests, requiring public accountability: Case study from Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina and Macedonia” examines the communication practices during these social movements/ initiatives that took place in period 2011–2015, ranging in focus from environmental issues, through education reforms, to wide socio-economic issues. The aim of the research is to understand how the government officials responded to the calls to accountability, what were the practices of citizens/activist in terms of promotion of the movement and its goals, and which role did the mainstream media took when reporting on the protests and social mobilization. Study volume contains an overview of the major results of the research in three countries, and three separate country reports. The study finds that response to protests by both media and the government was rather systemic, with both failing to act in the public interest and to promote government accountability. Protests that included less criticism of the government structures received fairer media treatment, while the more anti-government ones attracted more controversial media converge (ranging from pro-government, more balanced, to supportive of protests) and framing that involved strategies of delegitimization of protests (mainly in BiH and Macedonia). But importantly, even when particular media provided fair representation of protesters (mainly case of dismantling chemical weapons in Albania), the media reports were superficial, lacking in-depth insights and analyses and substantial demands for government accountability." (Publisher description)
Communicating citizens' protests: Exploring opportunities and constraints, calling for social and media reforms / Sanela Hodžic and Mojca Pajnik, 7
Between mainstream and social media: Communication practices during the protests in Albania / Ilda Londo, 57
"Revolution as the only solution": Communication practices during the protests in Bosnia and Herzegovina / Tijana Cvjeticanin, 141
Rallying for change: restoring government accountability through citizen protests: Communication practices during the protests in Macedonia / Bojan Georgievski, Dejan Andonov and Zaneta Trajkoska, 283