"This report outlines twenty-fives spheres where technology can contribute to peacebuilding goals and describes five generations of thinking related to the evolution of technology’s impact on peacebuilding. Digital peacebuilding contributes to democratic deliberation, violence prevention, social c
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ohesion, civic engagement and improved human security. Digital peacebuilding contributes to the wider field of digital citizenship and “tech for good.” (Abstract)
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"Wie können digitale Ansätze zu Frieden und Sicherheit beitragen? Die technische Revolution macht es erforderlich, dass die wichtigsten Akteure vor Ort und weltweit zusammenarbeiten, um dafür Lösungen zu entwickeln, auszuprobieren und zu verbreiten. Gleichzeitig geht es auch darum, damit verbund
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ene Risiken zu erkennen und zu verringern. Smart Prevention stellt beispielhafte Ansätze und Instrumente aus der Entwicklungszusammenarbeit vor." (Seite 3)
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"This guide offers an overview of e-analytics in the context of peacemaking and preventive diplomacy. It is rooted in the e-analytics course that the Department of Political and Peacebuilding Affairs has been conducting jointly with Global Pulse and a range of other partners since 2017. The guide pr
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esents a summary of e-analytics tools as well as examples from the peace and security field. It includes a data project planning matrix that aims to help facilitate and motivate data-driven analysis. Part of the guide is a glossary on basic terminology related to new technologies." (About this guide)
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This is the second of two policy briefs on polarisation. The first policy brief, “Polarisation and Peacebuilding Strategy on Digital Media Platforms: The Current Research,” reviewed the research, and concluded by recommending directions for future research. This brief describes interventions: (a
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) interventions currently being attempted by NGOs and other peacebuilders using digital platforms as their medium, and (b) interventions that the platforms themselves have tested and/or put into action. The conclusion of this brief sorts interventions into categories, and provides recommendations for digital media platforms.
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"Kenya has experienced a cycle of political violence following a series of controversial elections that have centred on ethnic competition, leading to human rights abuses, deaths, destruction of property and a downward economic spiral. At the core of election violence, witnessed in 2007/8 and in 201
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7, is the positive and negative role of social media as used by both citizens and politicians. Political competition driven through ethnic belonging, ethno-political extremism and hate speech on social media platforms has taken centre stage. This paper concludes that while social media is being exploited in a way that contributes to violence, social media is also contributing to peacebuilding. The paper calls for a multistakeholder collaborative approach to education and sensitisation programmes on the positive use of social media for democratic consolidation." (Introduction)
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"La paz parece haber sido esquiva en la historia de Colombia. Los vaivenes en los procesos de negociación, las promesas incumplidas y la polarización política han hecho de Colombia una nación en un estado de continua crisis y que, a pesar de sí misma —retomando la vieja frase de Bushnell— h
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a logrado mantenerse a flote y, sobre todo, no perder la esperanza de una paz estable y duradera. Numerosos han sido los intentos por construirla y parecen haber sido infructuosos, en especial porque buena parte de la representación colectiva que tenemos de ellos ha sido construida desde el aparataje mediático que, en el caso de nuestro país, ha estado al servicio del poder y que ha redundado en un escepticismo que, especialmente desde los años noventa, ha tendido a transformarse en una fuerte polarización. Con este libro queremos no solo pensar la paz y el (pos)conflicto desde la comunicación, sino recordar(nos), una vez más, que aún podemos ser un nosotros." (Cubierta del libro)
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"The #defyhatenow Social Media Hate Speech Mitigation Field Guide offers tools and strategies to be used in grassroots communities & online campaigns for peacebuilding in South Sudan and around the world. This “Field Guide” contains an overview of relevant grassroots projects, initiatives and st
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rategies and is designed for use in the field with training materials, workshop resources and toolkits for raising awareness, developing counter narratives & mitigating violence related to online hate speech." (Page 2)
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"The spread of social media has an increasing impact on peace mediation. It complicates mediators’ efforts to provide a confidential negotiation space. It also provides opportunities for public communication and consultations, allowing peace mediators to engage with audiences that were previously
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out of reach. It also changes the way conflict parties act, the narratives they advance and in some cases the way they fight wars. It is important for mediators to be aware of these dynamics and to prepare accordingly. Despite the changes, social media are unlikely to revolutionize peace mediation. Present and future, just like in the past, it essentially remains a human-driven activity. Peace mediators engage with parties, building trust between them and helping them reach mutually acceptable agreements in situations when developments in the military and political context allow for it." (Conclusion, page 4)
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"The policy brief outlines key snapshots of Sri Lanka’s social media landscape as it stood at the time of writing, in early August 2018, and offers some recommendations aimed at civil society’s use of social media for conflict transformation." (Abstract)
"In this chapter we have discussed a number of concrete strategies and practical examples on how to implement digital media literacy projects even in a difficult political and socio-cultural context like South Sudan. These are based in developing a holistic approach that considers citizen interactio
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n with media via the accessible vehicle of social media platforms, as an integral part of both a peacebuilding as well as literacy development strategy. From raising awareness of the direct effects of media-induced hate speech on the conflict, even for citizens who are not media literate, to the training of technical ICT, text messaging and social media skills, familiarizes people with a technology and social process such that they feel empowered to take action to move beyond conflict. Social media interaction can also be transformed from a very individual practice, into a truly social and collaborative exercise, for example through "peace jamming" or integrating social media into the many peacebuilding conferences and youth actions that regularly take place across the country. Where often the manipulation of social media with the intention to exacerbate conflict and instability comes from outside the country, learning counter-messaging skills, employing and understanding social media ethics, and identifying the vocabulary of dangerous speech can act toward occupying an undefined social media space with a language of peacebuilding, rather than leaving that space open to agents of conflict." (Conclusion)
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"Social media and digital technology offer immense potential for citizens, policymakers and practitioners to raise awareness of, monitor, and respond to violence. With Kenya’s elections approaching, technology can help to raise awareness of insecurity, support early warning, combat incitement of v
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iolence and promote accountability. However, digital technology also carries a number of risks. To maximise effectiveness and inclusivity, 1) greater support must be given to locally legitimate peace messaging and counter-speech; 2) government, media and civil society should collaborate to improve transparency and accountability in the regulation of online activity; and 3) social media monitoring of violence should be undertaken in conjunction with other reporting systems that seek to overcome inequalities in digital access and use." (Abstract)
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"This collection of articles contributes to the growing body of research on how technology is affecting peacebuilding, peace and conflict studies, and research methodologies in the field. Assumptions about the use of technology for peace are interrogated, such as the purported deepening of inclusivi
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ty and widening of participation that technology provides to peacebuilders and communities. It frames the discussion from a peacefocused perspective, providing a response to the work done by others who have focused on the ways technology makes violence more likely." (Abstract)
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"This paper assesses the role of social media and digital technologies (SMDTs) in the reporting of violent events, and evaluates their relative strengths and weaknesses as compared to other means available. It seeks to understand how SMDT data are collated, how reliable the data are, and what practi
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cal and ethical issues are associated with their collection and use. We start by situating the application of these technologies within the wider discussion of the use of information and communication technologies for development (ICT4D) and the sub-field of real-time data for development (RTD4D), before presenting the different types of SMDT data collection instruments and methods. We then assess the reliability of SMDTs for the reporting of violent events, identifying potential factors of biases in the data, such as geographical coverage, demographic and socioeconomic factors, or biases resulting from the nature and configuration of violent events. We also look at whether such data can accurately capture underlying dynamics of violent events. Finally, we look at the practical and ethical challenges associated with the collection of SMDT data on violent events." (Summary)
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"Poor-quality data about conflict events can hinder humanitarian responses and bias academic research. There is increasing recognition of the role that new information technologies can play in producing more reliable data faster. We piloted a novel data-gathering system in the Democratic Republic of
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Congo in which villagers in a set of randomly selected communities report on events in real time via short message service. We first describe the data and assess its reliability. We then examine the usefulness of such ‘‘crowdseeded’’ data in two ways. First, we implement a downstream experiment on aid and conflict and find evidence that aid can lead to fewer conflict events. Second, we examine conflict diffusion in Eastern Congo and find evidence that key dynamics operate at very micro levels. Both applications highlight the benefit of collecting conflict data via cell phones in real time." (Abstract)
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"This rapid review identifies recent literature on the role of social media plays in conflict management in post-Conflict and fragile contexts. Conflict management refers to policies relating to national reconciliation; peace-building; stronger state-Citizen relations; and social cohesion and inclus
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ion. In most of the literature, social media was grouped in with new media and information communication technologies (ICTs). The evidence base for this area is weak despite much enthusiasm over the potential impact social media could have. Very little analysis of the impact of social media on conflict has been carried out." (Page 1)
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"This article explores whether, and to what extent, local knowledge features in research on the role of ICTs in statebuilding and peacebuilding in Africa, with a particular focus on neighboring Somalia, Kenya, and Ethiopia. We question whether the claims of the transformative power of ICTs are backe
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d by ‘evidence’ and whether local knowledge – e.g., traditional mechanisms for conflict resolution – is taken into consideration by ICT-based development initiatives. To assess this, we systematically reviewed literature in the region, focusing on academic outputs as well as research published by non-governmental and governmental organizations. Several key findings emerged, including: 1) empirical evidence on the successful use of ICTs to promote peacebuilding and statebuilding is thin; 2) few differences exist between scholarship emanating from the Global North and from Africa; and 3) overall, the literature exhibits a simplistic assumption that ICTs will drive democratic development without sufficient consideration of how ICTs are actually used by the public." (Abstract)
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