Humanitarian Crises and Intervention: Reassessing the Impact of Mass Media

Table of Contents:
1) Introduction: The Problem and Research Methods; 2) Liberia, 1990: ECOMOG I -""Operation Liberty,"" UMOMIL; 3) Somalia, 1992: UNOSOM I, UNITAF -""Operation Restore Hope,"" UNOSOM II; 4) Sudan, 1992: Humanitarian Relief Efforts Confront an Intractable Civil War; 5) Rwanda, 1994: UNAMIR I, UNAMIR II, and ""Operation Turquoise""; 6) Haiti, 1994: ""Operation Restore (Uphold) Democracy,"" UNMIH; 7) Burundi, 1996: United Nations and African Intervention Initiatives Falter; 8) Zaire (Democratic Republic of Congo) 1996: ""Operation Assurance"" -The Intervention that Never Was; 9) Sierra Leone, 1997: ECOMOG II, UNOMSIL, UNAMSIL; 10) Angola, 1999: 1000 UN Observers Removed- 30 UN Observers Returned; 11) East Timor (Timor-Leste) 1999: INTERFET -""Operation Warden""; 12) Conclusion: Assessing the Comparative Impact of Mass Media on Intervention Decision-making.

About the Author :
E. Donald Briggs (Ph.D., University of London, 1961) is Professor Emeritus of Political Science at the University of Windsor where he taught international relations and African politics from 1963 until his retirement in 1999. Walter C. Soderlund (Ph.D., University of Michigan 1970) is Professor Emeritus in the Department of Political Science at the University of Windsor. He is the author of Media Definitions of Cold War Reality and Mass Media and Foreign Policy, as well as the co-editor of Television Advertising in Canadian Elections, Profiles of Canada, and Canadian Newspaper Ownership in the Era of Convergence. Kai Hildebrandt (Ph.D., University of Michigan 1990) is Associate Professor of Communication Studies at the University of Windsor. He co-authored Germany in Transition (1981) and co-edited Television Advertising in Canadian Elections (1999). Abdel Salam Sidahmed (Ph.D., Charles University, Prague, Czech Republic, 1991) is Assistant Professor of Political Science at the University of Windsor. From 1995 to 2005 he held a number of positions at the International Secretariat, Amnesty International, London, including the post of Director of the Middle East Program. His authored and co-authored publications include: Sudan (2005 -in the Routledge Curzon contemporary Middle East Series) Politics and Islam in Contemporary Sudan (1997) and Islamic Fundamentalism (1996 -nominated for the 1998 Grawemeyer Award for Ideas Improving World Order).

Review :
"A methodologically innovative and theoretically powerful examination of the role the media play in mobilizing -- or failing to mobilize -- the international community to come to the aid of populations in the grips of catastrophe. The book's clearly written and richly documented case-study approach makes the research accessible to a broad spectrum of readers -- students, journalists, policymakers. Citizens who read grim news from faraway places and wonder whether the media can do anything to help will find cause for both optimism and pessimism in this book." "What would explain the poor track record of the international community when it comes to intervention against gross violations of human rights in Third World societies? Using ingenious rank-order indicators, Soderlund and his colleagues examine the severity of the problem, the risks of intervening, and the strength of media advocacy to provide a thoughtful and thorough analysis. Informative, moving, and challenging." "Writings on how the United States responded to humanitarian crises in East Timor, Liberia, Somalia, Sudan, and other countries."