ABSTRACT
This introduction presents an overview of the key concepts discussed in the subsequent chapters of this book. The book demonstrates how the project's presumed communicative power to reunite former enemies operated in Western circles. It analyses the interrelationship between IRIN's mission to deliver "public service" humanitarian news and Jynwel's presupposed intention to look good by saving it from closure. The book identifies gaps between practitioners' discourses and actions, and moreover between their public and private discourses. It also analyses critically what they signify in terms of the problems addressed, the solutions proposed, and the types of intervention foregrounded by the various donors, as well as issues of competition versus collaboration among them. The book considers how to improve the substance and the quality of communication work in development, drawing largely on action-research and practitioners' expertise and reflection. It shows that shared team histories go some way towards facilitating resilience in the face of unstable conditions.
