ABSTRACT
This introduction presents an overview of the key concepts discussed in the subsequent chapters of this book. The book focuses on the academic interaction between communication and peace studies. It traces the evolution of peace studies, situating within it the role of communication, and particularly the Peace Journalism movement. The book looks at the issue of conflict-sensitive journalism including its evolution and implementation, with a case study of the election coverage in Kenya and points to the potentials and limitations of this variety of journalism. It examines the patterns, practices and performance of the press in its coverage of the proposed norm of the Responsibility to Protect (R2P), based on a comprehensive study of English language newspapers across the period 2002-2013. The book uses the cases of three UN peacekeeping operations Kosovo, Haiti and the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) to analyze the effectiveness of the new UN strategic communication policy in building public support and responding to criticism.
