ABSTRACT
The academic sub-field of media and conflict has developed and expanded at a phenomenal rate over the past two decades. Operating across an unusually diverse range of academic fields, including political science, communications, journalism and media studies, cultural studies, international relations, sociology and psychology, scholars have engaged with a wide variety of issues concerning media and violent conflict. In no particular order of importance, academics have studied the ways in which news media has both enabled and constrained governments pursuing war, the role of the media as a catalyst for attempts to respond to humanitarian crises, the ways in which actors involved in violent political struggle and terrorism have exploited communication tools to further their aims, and the role of media as a facilitator of, and a threat to, both peace building and conflict prevention. Underpinning this diverse and eclectic body of research is the recognition of the centrality of media and communications to our understanding of security and conflict.
