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Austrian Study
Center for Peace and Conflict Resolution (ed), 2003. Constructive Conflict
Coverage - A Social Psychological Approach. Berlin: regener, 190 pp.,
€ 29.90.*
The role of the media
in war always interests the general public during major military conflicts,
but afterward it rapidly fades from attention. Peace researchers, for
their part, later often accuse the media of biased, stereotypical and
escalation-oriented reporting, showing little concern for the deeper causes
of conflict and alternative possibilities of conflict resolution. Media
representatives also occasionally draw retrospectively self-critical conclusions
in public - but this usually does not lead to fundamental changes in reportage
during the next war. German media reportage, which both before and after
the Iraq war was chiefly critical, was an exception. It seems more than
a little doubtful, however, whether this will set the tone for reportage
on future military interventions. Probably the critical and relatively
distanced media coverage of the Iraq war was one reason Germany did not
(unlike in Kosovo or in Afghanistan) formally participate, and not just
the great majority of the population, but also the German government rejected
the war.
In the past, however, not only researchers, but also practitioners have
increasingly devoted attention, besides the analysis and critique of media
reportage, to developing constructive journalistic alternatives. The concepts
they have developed have previously circulated under various names, but
by and large refer to the same things: "peace journalism", "de-escalation
oriented reportage", "constructive conflict reporting",
"ethical crisis journalism".
Wilhelm Kempf has now published a work that for the first time not only
coherently describes the theoretical and empirical foundations of constructive
conflict reportage, but also suggests how it can be put into practice.
Published by the Austrian Study Center for Peace and Conflict Research
(ÖSFK), this work, developed as a textbook, should open up new perspectives,
especially for future journalists, and give teachers well-grounded teaching
materials. The book can furthermore provide experienced journalists and
all interested media users with thought-provoking new insights.
The book is divided into two main parts, the first of which is dedicated
to the principles, sources and previous models of constructive conflict
reportage, while the second part deals with training concepts and possible
learning strategies.
In the first part a few fundamental concepts of conflict theory are presented,
and the different dynamics of constructive and destructive conflict processes
are demonstrated. The social-psychological approach which underlies the
work focuses particularly on the cognitive and emotional processes that
occur in the course of conflict escalation, i.e., on how perceptions,
evaluations and feelings change as conflict escalates. Whether a conflict
escalates and what psychological processes are involved depends particularly
on whether it is conceived of as a process of competition or as a process
of cooperation, on whether it appears possible to achieve one's aims only
at the other party's expense ("win-lose" situation) or whether
cooperation with the opponent is seen as necessary for realizing one's
own interests ("win-win" situation).
These processes, this is one of the author's basic theses, can be transferred
to conflict reportage. Consequently the media play a central role in the
process of socially constructing reality, and it is up to them to decide
how to fulfill this role. Propaganda and classical war reportage make
use of social-psychological processes by linking conflicts with a win-lose
logic and thereby provide an interpretive frame within which an increasing
polarization of the conflict parties and an increasing willingness to
escalate conflict appear practically inevitable. Kempf demonstrates and
illustrates this on the basis of numerous empirical studies, above all
of the wars in the Persian Gulf, Bosnia and Kosovo.
Constructive conflict reportage, to the contrary, breaks with the logic
of war discourse. Kempf regards a two-step process as necessary for the
establishment of a "peace discourse": "de-escalation oriented
reportage" is largely identical with conventional conceptions of
quality journalism, characterized by neutrality and critical distance
from all conflict parties. "Solution-oriented reportage," to
the contrary, goes beyond this, questions basic societal convictions on
collective security, focuses on shared interests and aims and actively
searches for creative conflict solutions. In the author's opinion, the
general public will accept this second step only in post-war phases, but
it can, as a minority position, contribute to the gradual deconstruction
of war discourse already during wars.
Kempf is convinced that journalists basically possess the ability and
imagination to practice this sort of reportage. The question of how the
necessary competencies can be furthered and stimulated is posed in the
second, practice-oriented part of the book. Here we find very concrete
concepts for training through which journalists can expand their know-how
in regard to the conceptions presented in the first part of the book:
conflict analysis, conflict dynamics and working through conflict. In
addition, they should develop their own techniques in order to write reports
which gain their "allure" from the struggle to find a peaceful
solution and not from the polarization of the conflict parties or the
mere representation of violence and atrocity. This demand formulated by
Kempf is to be realized in training, above all through the rewriting of
actual newspaper articles in constructive variants, as well as in group
analysis and discussion. It remains to be seen whether the "checklists
for escalation and de-escalation oriented aspects of conflict reportage"
presented as a stimulus for this will prove to be helpful tools; for practical
training purposes they seem somewhat unwieldy and possibly too complex.
Overall the volume seems quite suitable to meet the needs of textbook
users. For one thing, it offers an excellent theoretically and empirically
grounded introduction to the topic. For another, it is characterized by
a clear organization and structure and a readable style, supported by
many subheadings and marginal headings. A CD-ROM is included on which
the most important contents are summarized as teaching and training material.
Burkhard
Bläsi
*Mit freundlicher Genehmigung von Wissenschaft &
Frieden. Die Rezension erschien erstmalig in Heft 2/2004 in deutscher
Sprache.
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