Role of the Meida in Political Conflicts

You are to answer two of the following three questions. You have up to three typed pages (font 12, 1.5 spacing) to answer each question. Please submit your email attachment as a Word document because it makes it easier to write comments. Please send to the following email address (and not through Moodle): msgadi1@gmail.com . The questions are designed so that you should be able to integrate materials from both the lectures and the readings. The more readings you integrate into you answer the better. In addition, students who are able to bring in relevant new readings that were not on the syllabus will be given extra points. When referring to readings you should use the standard method used in journal articles. This includes the name of author and the date of the publication in alphabetical order. As an example: “A number of authors have talked about the ways in which the new media may have changed the ability of social movements to succeed (Gladwell, 2010; Kavda, 2010).” Every exam should come with a title page (with your name and ID number, the name of the course, and my name) and a alphabetical list of bibliographic sources at the end (using any standard reference style). Neither the title page nor the list of references at the end is considered part of the six-page limit.

Please remember that a take-home exam is not the same as an in-class exam. Because you have more time and can consult more sources the final product should be more significant.

Questions

1. There was quite a bit of discussion in class about the ways in which the advent of the digital age may have led to a change in the role the media play in conflicts. Based on the lectures and the readings you should make 3 theoretical claims that allow you to say something about what you have learned about the topic. Be sure to number each claim and formulate each one as a claim. It is important not to limit yourself just to one type of conflict (e.g. wars) when discussing the issue.

2. You are in charge of a political movement (you can decide which one) attempting to bring about some type of change. You are about to give a lecture to movement followers about what they need to know in order to successfully use different types of media in order to mobilize new supporters and get their message out to the general public. Based on the lectures and the readings what are the three major lessons you’ve learned about the issue that you believe are important they know? Here too, be sure to number the three lessons and formulate them in as clear a manner as possible.

3. There were a number of lectures about the PMP principle and how it can be used to explain the varying role of the media in violent conflicts. There were two major elements that were discussed. a) The “Politics First Proposition” b) The “Media Selection and Transformation Proposition”. Explain the underlying logic behind each of these propositions and explain how they can be used to better understand the how the role of the media can vary during wars and/or among different wars.