Week 6: A Limited Role for New Media in PD

 

Events like Arab Spring shape not only the country where they are occurring but the international community watching in anticipation as the events unfold. In our readings this week there were opposing views offered on the effects of new media during times of political unrest. As we started discussing last week the challenges of technology in PD, this week’s readings truly continue the discussion just to a further level of specificity - the role of new media in PD in situations of conflict and political unrest.

Before being able to address the role of new media, I think it is fair to examine a critical challenge posed in one of this week’s reading. When considering if new media could be used in PD, I think it is fair to consider how new media is being used right now. In the USIP Blogs and Bullets II article the authors provide insight as to how new media was used in Arab Spring. “”We find stronger evidence that new media informs international audiences and mainstream media reporting rather than plays a direct role in organizing protests or allowing local audiences to share self-generated news directly with one another” (USIP, 5). If this case study suggests similar patterns for new media usage during times of conflict and political unrest, the challenge to PD will be to find how to appropriately use new media within the targeted country.

I don’t want to suggest that PD should not employ new media source during political unrest or conflict, but it should be done judicially to ensure results. A general understanding in conflict prevention programming is that militant and insurgent based groups (i.e. Al Shabaab)  use new media sources to influence and target audiences on an ongoing basis, not just at times of heighten conflict or political unrest. If that is the case, the use of new media for PD should be ongoing. If we look back again to our to our discussion last week, if PD begins or increases new media campaigns during political unrest or conflict there are risks of not accurately reflecting a message, not targeting the correct audience, or reporting without all the information.

 After considering events such as Arab Spring, USIP offers five levels that new media may affect political conflict. To mitigate risks, PD should consider focusing on simply the individual attitudes and behavior level. By focusing on this level, PD will provide opportunities to think and behave differently, and share ideas across borders. While the other levels offer interesting attributes, there are contentious aspects that run the risk of losing an audience or failing to meet a policy objective.

As conflict and political unrest continue PD will need to stay aware and monitor new media, however at this time, I think limited engagement during active unrest will reduce PD’s chance for miscommunication.