Media and Civil Society in 21st Century Conflict

Book excerpt: As the nature of war has changed, so has the role of civilians caught up in war. In an increasingly interconnected and globalized world, the way that media, civil society, and nongovernmental actors engage with conflict can be as important as what happens on the battlefield. Forty years after the birth of the human rights movement, nongovernmental activists use naming and shaming and other tactics to draw boundaries on warring parties' actions and to shape the legal standards by which they will be judged. Meanwhile, the growth of "embed journalism" and the 24-hour news cycle gives the public a ringside seat to conflict. The articles in this anthology focus on the small cadre of individuals-journalists, lawyers, humanitarians, and civil society activists-who are often caught between the population and combatants in modern conflicts. Experts outline the dilemmas these individuals face in navigating the complexity of 21st century conflict environments and analyze their impact on modern warfare. Book jacket.