The Responsibility to Protect in Darfur
The Role of Mass Media
By (author) Abdel Salam Sidahmed, Walter C. Soderlund, Donald E. Briggs
Publication date:
15 February 2010Length of book:
172 pagesPublisher
Lexington BooksISBN-13: 9780739138069
Long-simmering conflict in the Sudanese region of Darfur came to a boil in the spring of 2003 and became a focus of American media attention in September 2004. After the genocide in Rwanda the international community developed a new way to deal with genocide-the "Responsibility to Protect" doctrine which legitimized intervention in case of egregious loss of human life. Despite this new doctrine, it took over five years of conflict in Darfur before the U. N. began intervening. The Responsibility to Protect in Darfur: The Role of Mass Media, traces the development of international intervention in domestic conflict, culminating in the concept of "Responsibility to Protect" in 2001. The authors explain the background and complexity of the crisis besetting Darfur, and document U.S. media coverage of the crisis in terms of framing that would mobilize public opinion behind international intervention.
The book traces evolution in international norms regarding state sovereignty and human rights that led to the articulation of "Responsibility to Protect" and its subsequent adoption by the international community in 2005. It provides an understanding of the complex nature of the Darfur crises, in a way that was seriously lacking in media coverage. The authors also analyze the affects media coverage of the crisis had on the world's reaction, particularly in the U.S. Specifically it looks at television coverage of the crisis, and the newspaper coverage, particularly through The New York Times. Finally, the authors ask if "Responsibility to Protect" was helpful in Darfur, and if it will be in the future for other countries.
The book traces evolution in international norms regarding state sovereignty and human rights that led to the articulation of "Responsibility to Protect" and its subsequent adoption by the international community in 2005. It provides an understanding of the complex nature of the Darfur crises, in a way that was seriously lacking in media coverage. The authors also analyze the affects media coverage of the crisis had on the world's reaction, particularly in the U.S. Specifically it looks at television coverage of the crisis, and the newspaper coverage, particularly through The New York Times. Finally, the authors ask if "Responsibility to Protect" was helpful in Darfur, and if it will be in the future for other countries.
Sidahmed, Soderlund, and Briggs (all, Univ. of Windsor, Canada) present two essays in just over 100 pages. One is a rapid survey of the proclaimed genocide in Darfur, centering on the contradiction of respect for state sovereignty and the doctrine of an international responsibility to protect (R2P) citizens inside states. The second is a survey of the several years of reporting and interpretation by the mass media. The audience for the first will find a workmanlike summary of events. The audience for the second will find a useful short investigation of how the media treated news of the mass killings and the issue of intervention. The New York Times as the exemplar of serious press gains special attention; Nicholas Kristof is credited with keeping the Darfur story alive. The media section of this book reflects some original research with interesting analyses of the nature and amount of coverage. Overall, the conclusions are unsurprising: R2P remains a failure in Darfur, and how to square the doctrine of state sovereignty with the actual ability to enforce remains a dilemma. As readers might expect, the mass media does an inadequate job of covering continuing humanitarian crises. Copious appendixes and bibliography. Recommended.