The US Institute of Peace / Center of Innovation focuses on harnessing the power of the media for peacebuilding, and on developing new strategies for countering the abuse of media during conflict. Media have been both targets and weapons in violent conflict. Seizing the airwaves, broadcasting divisive messages, blocking Internet access and intimidating journalists are just some of the well-known tactics used to ensure control over information and promote violence. Less well developed is the capacity of the media for building peace.
The Center has come up with some very good publications, please have a look to understand how far the discussion is and choose a relevant starting point:
- Institute Website with lots of resources from here
- Peace Watch Article: Harnessing the power of media to build peace
- Peace Media Website (more resources and articles)
- Blogs and Bullets: New Media in Contentious Politics
- Understanding Online Discourse as a Cause of Conflict and Means of Dialogue
- Workshop report: Communication for Peacebuilding