ABSTRACT
Media diplomacy epitomizes media’s role, especially TV in the conduct of International Relations. It is the use and/or misuse of TV by policymakers to advance state interests. The drama surrounding the diplomatic standoff between Kenya and Somalia over the ownership of the oil-rich blocks in the Indian Ocean has been at the centre of primetime headlines in international media. This involvement of global TV in the conflict has lighted debates on the role of the media in advancing foreign policy issues. This chapter analyses the coverage of international media on the Kenya-Somalia maritime territorial dispute with a view to locate the challenges and opportunities these channels have presented to the resolution of the conflict. The findings show that both states leveraged on media diplomacy to drive their foreign policy goals. In addition, media coverage was highly sensational hence fuelling the conflict. Despite the media elevating the conflict to the global policy agenda, the international community is yet to intervene. Further coverage of the conflict should therefore be sensitive to the dynamics of the conflict and accentuate how both states can benefit from a compromise settlement. So far, the media seems to be cultivating a fertile ground for a deadly war.
