Media and Conflict Resolution; Analyzing the use of Entertainment-Education media interventions in conflict situations

Over the last fifty years, the relationship between war and mass media has been studied extensively. In contrast, much remains unknown about the use of media to prevent intergroup conflict. Although radio and television have long been considered as potential agents of social advancement and national integration, academic knowledge about the involvement of media in conflict resolution has remained deficient. In this thesis, the use of Entertainment-Education media interventions in conflict areas is analyzed to find out whether Entertainment-Education media interventions contribute to conflict resolution. The thesis is divided in two parts. In the first part, existing literature about the use of Entertainment-Education in conflict situations is reviewed. The review shows that although the use of Entertainment-Education interventions in conflict situations is increasing, there is hardly any scientific evidence suggesting that these interventions have a positive impact on the audience. Most studies are non-experimental and full of research biases. In the second part of this thesis, a relevant case example of the use of Entertainment-Education in conflict areas is studied in detail: the Rwandan radio soap opera Musekeweya. Musekeweya was specifically designed to foster reconciliation in Rwanda, a country that copes with the effects of the 1994 genocide.