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Title: Media as Tool of Democratisation: Promoting Free Media in Post Conflict Society (theoretical framework)
Last modified: 2011-03-31
Abstract
Existing studies on media assistance do acknowledge that it is a concept used in some post conflict countries as a tool of democratisation in the last 20 years, but do not agree if it is a successful or not, or if it should be used at all. My intention is to measure impact media assistance had on professionalization of the media in Bosnia and Herzegovina, one of the countries where it has been deployed, in order to establish if and how media assistance can help democratisation.
Starting point is that free media and democratization depends on each other, but does not create each other, and that neither can be imposed from the outside, but has to be developed from the inside. Democracy needs professional and self sustainable media. According to many authors, media assistance does not create this type of media, but often makes them donor dependent and in service of those who are assisting them. Still, media assistance is indeed needed after the war, when media are seriously damaged in every way, but the whole concept has to be more carefully researched in order to develop sustainable model for the future.
Existing studies define media but also democracy in a different ways. Exact definition of the media assistance concept is still not determined, but I will compare existing once and try to come out with one that will be used for the purpose of my research. Through establishing connections between these different concepts, I will search for the answer about efficacy of the media assistance on democratization, and finally on state building in post conflict societies. One of the questions my research will try to answer is can free media, as well as democracy, be imposed, like it has been done in Bosnia, Rwanda, Iraq, Afghanistan and many other post conflict countries in the recent past? It is important also to understand the impact of external imposition and limited sovereignty on the establishment of a free media and democracy, and it will be also one of the aspects of my project.
The thesis should give an overview of the approach used in Bosnia, strategies and results, and points of benefits for the media and society, but also toward possible mistakes. Literature on the specific topic, media assistance and democratization in post conflict countries, exist, though not many, but the approach I am planning to use is different. Most of the authors observed the whole process from outside, while the biggest part of my research will be fieldwork, in Bosnia. I will interview those who were part of this still ongoing process, representatives of IC, media, different foundations and donor organizations, as well as journalists and media professionals, representatives of different organizations, national and international, that are working with media.
Starting point is that free media and democratization depends on each other, but does not create each other, and that neither can be imposed from the outside, but has to be developed from the inside. Democracy needs professional and self sustainable media. According to many authors, media assistance does not create this type of media, but often makes them donor dependent and in service of those who are assisting them. Still, media assistance is indeed needed after the war, when media are seriously damaged in every way, but the whole concept has to be more carefully researched in order to develop sustainable model for the future.
Existing studies define media but also democracy in a different ways. Exact definition of the media assistance concept is still not determined, but I will compare existing once and try to come out with one that will be used for the purpose of my research. Through establishing connections between these different concepts, I will search for the answer about efficacy of the media assistance on democratization, and finally on state building in post conflict societies. One of the questions my research will try to answer is can free media, as well as democracy, be imposed, like it has been done in Bosnia, Rwanda, Iraq, Afghanistan and many other post conflict countries in the recent past? It is important also to understand the impact of external imposition and limited sovereignty on the establishment of a free media and democracy, and it will be also one of the aspects of my project.
The thesis should give an overview of the approach used in Bosnia, strategies and results, and points of benefits for the media and society, but also toward possible mistakes. Literature on the specific topic, media assistance and democratization in post conflict countries, exist, though not many, but the approach I am planning to use is different. Most of the authors observed the whole process from outside, while the biggest part of my research will be fieldwork, in Bosnia. I will interview those who were part of this still ongoing process, representatives of IC, media, different foundations and donor organizations, as well as journalists and media professionals, representatives of different organizations, national and international, that are working with media.