Institute of Development Studies

Effective states and the media: A research dialogue across disciplines

Clare Gorman - 23 January 2009

The role of a free media in underpinning democratic development is consistently highlighted in much development literature, however, little research attention has been paid to why communication matters, how and under what conditions the media’s effect is felt on development outcomes. Furthermore, the role of an increasingly fragmented media in fractured and fragile states is particularly poorly understood, especially in relation to conflict and marginalisation.

With this picture as the backdrop, media and development specialists were invited to explore fragile states and the media at a symposium hosted by the Institute of Development Studies and the BBC World Service Trust at Stanmer Park House, Brighton on Friday 16 January.

First steps towards an ongoing discussion

The event marked the beginning of what the organisers hope will be a continuing dialogue between mainstream development research and a body of research on communication and the media. It was designed as a first step in understanding current perceptions of the state of research in this area, and what – from the perspective of development theorists and academics – a useful set of research questions would look like. Throughout the day, participants were encouraged to reflect on the current status of research on the role of media, any serious gaps in the existing knowledge and the research questions they’d like to pursue.

Viewing the research landscape

James Deane and Gerry Power from the BBC World Service Trust offered a practitioner organisation perspective of media and governance research by describing their perceptions of the research gaps in terms of what they knew a good deal about, what they know quite a bit about and what they know little about. They went on to explain the factors for their ignorance which includes the disconnect between media and communications and development research – a point that resonated with many of those present.

Joanna Wheeler from the Participation, Citizenship and Accountability Development Research Centre and IDS Fellow Anna Schmidt identified some of the key research questions on building effective states and citizenship with presentations on the role of citizenship in building effective states and the role of the media during African elections respectively. Charlie Matthews, also from IDS and Guy Collender from the London International Development Centre presented a case study of the most recent elections in Kenya and the USA, drawing on new technologies such as blogging and mobile phones to explain emerging media trends and show how political media is changing.

The discussion following these presentations raised questions about the need for media research to connect to political science research and led to considerable debate on the possible correlation between fractured, fragile states and a fragile media system. The idea, as introduced by Joanna Wheeler, of the role of violence and insecurity leading not to fragile states, but to fragilities of citizenship also sparked a great deal of discussion.

Robin Mansell, Head of the Department of Media and Communications at the London School of Economics (and an IDS Trustee), led a discussion on how media and communication research is contributing to research dialogue on effective and fragile states in which she emphasised the need to move on from research on the media’s ‘impact on X' towards ‘mediations’.

Pathways towards a new research framework

In the final session, participants were asked to identify priority areas of research, opportunities for cross disciplinary research and what constraints need to be overcome. Priority areas of research that emerged include:

• New applications of media in the context of information economies
• Issues of power - how information is used as a resource
• Practices around election reporting
• Mediation and the role of mediators in social change
• Dependency on media in times of conflict
• Issues of rapid change and transformation

What did participants hope to gain from attending the event? Did the seminar’s outcomes match participant expectations? Could the discussions have gone further? Over the next week, participant reactions to these questions will be posted on this page in the form of video interviews, blogs and think pieces. A full report 'Effective States and the Media' is also available.

Event multimedia

• The Role of Media in Fragile States session 1 (mp3)
• The Role of Media Fragile States presentation 1 (Slideshare)
• The Role of Media in Fragile States session 2 (mp3)
• The Role of Media Fragile States presentation 2 (Slideshare)
• The Role of Media in Fragile States session 3 (mp3)

 

 

Clare Gorman is a Communications Officer at IDS

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