The media is more than just a
primetime circus in India Today (Pun Unintended). Given the outreach of the media and the
significant rise in citizen journalism through social media platforms it can be
said without dubitation that the media plays a purposive and pragmatic role if
not positive in conflict scenarios. It is the media that can prevent
information attack by ethical reporting. But the changing dynamics of broadcast
and print media and digitisation have pushed ethical journalism over the edge.
Sensationalism has replaced factual reporting. In spite of its limitations, the
media can play a purposive, pragmatic and positive role in de escalation of
conflict by giving a voice to the warring factions.
In common parlance the United
Nations Institute for Training and Research (UNITAR) programme of
correspondence instructions in peacekeeping operations defines conflict as
'pursuit of incompatible goals by individuals or groups'. In other words
conflict situations arise when individuals or groups pursue positions,
interests, needs, or values that may lead to actions that come up against the
interests, needs and values of others when they also want to satisfy their
goals. Conflict resolution is a set of techniques for resolving conflicts with
the assistance of a third party. Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) is a
concept that encompasses a variety of mechanisms by which conflicts are
resolved. In other words, ADR offers alternatives to litigation which has often
times been associated with delays, exorbitant fees, and discontentment. (Amoh) .
When it comes to Conflict
Management, Mediation plays a very crucial role. The advocates of mediation
adopt ADR techniques including, Negotiation, reconciliation and personal
intervention in possible scenarios through delegation to resolve conflicts.
Dascal Marcelo opines that “the use of violence and the use of
argumentation belong to a set of “communicative acts” structured by a double
conceptual/rhetorical grid of metonymic and metaphorical relations. While the
metaphorical relations conceptualize argument as analogous to war, the
metonymical relations conceptualize argument as continuous with war. Metaphor permits
to identify the warlike aspects of argument, both in intellectual operations
such as criticism and in emotive operations such as propaganda (as in Popper’s
quote). But it keeps these operations
strictly apart from physical violence, to which they bear only a relation of
similitude. Metonymy, on the other hand, conceptualizes the operations involved
in argument as being themselves part and parcel of the power game. As such,
they function either as a continuation of war in another register (as in Foucault’s
quote) or as nothing more than violence’s temporary replacements (as in the
belief that as long as the contenders negotiate they at least don’t wage war).”
Creating dialogues in conflict
scenarios is a crucial cog of Conflict Management. The media today is a
powerful tool which can change the dynamics of any conflict with information
dissemination and mediation. Experts and eminent personalities are called on
national television to suggest alternatives to existing conflict and remedial
measures to mitigate the conflict. The media can provide a platform to the
warring factions to reach a level of adjustment compromise. The media is a very
crucial link between the government and its people. It acts as a watchdog
almost playing the role of the opposition party in India. Every governmental
policy is under media scrutiny, and under public eye.
Conflict management is the way
forward if we want a stable geopolitical world order. Violence and Bloodshed
has never resulted in anything constructive. The world witnessed two great wars;
a period of cold war ensued, followed by the disintegration of USSR and
emergence of the United States of America (USA) as the only superpower
on the international stage. But a lot has changed since then. The increasing
interference of China in South Asia, the rise of India as a dominant power in
South Asia have brought about a dynamic shift in the balance of power structure
in international politics, resulting in increasing multipolarity. The rise and
phenomenal growth of the mass media and the digitisation process has also
contributed to this changing dynamics of balance of power. By highlighting
issues of geopolitical importance, the media has become the centre of study
especially in conflict and peace studies. A study of Mediation techniques would
remain incomplete without the dissection of the role of mass media in creating
dialogues. Newspapers, broadcast media, digital platforms, radio, mobile phones,
social media platforms all play a crucial role in conflict management.
However it must be kept in mind
that propaganda stories tend to distort the conflict management process. There
is a very thin line between truth and lies and given the commercialisation of
media houses ethical journalism goes for a toss and sometimes instead of de
–escalation media plays and active role in escalating conflict. A middle path
must be taken.
Reference Reading
Marcelo Dascal, Argument, War and the Role of the Media in Conflict Management
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