Conflict and Journalism

Author(s):  
Fay Anderson

The 20th century was defined by violent conflict: war, genocide, and military occupation. World War I left approximately 10 million dead and World War II had a death toll estimated at 55 million. It has been conservatively calculated that the total number of dead killed in wars during the century was 108 million, as the casualties shifted from armed combatants to victims of mass extermination in civil wars and wars of colonization. Civilian collateral damage and the targeting of civilians by ethnicity and religion became tragically common. Journalists have witnessed and chronicled the seismic military, social, cultural, and political transformations, as well as providing a vital democratic function. Paralleling this age of devastation was the ascendant power of legacy media and its golden age in the West. The combination of technological advancement, the professionalization of the industry, greater literacy and expanded newspaper readerships, and mass culture brought the press to the frontline in unprecedented numbers and in a new and intimate relationship. Journalists functioned and continue to operate as witnesses, communicators, recorders, and interpreters, on both the battlefield and the home front, as well as negotiating the competing demands of their media organizations, the public, political, and military elites, and their professional lives. This century had barely dawned when armies and a largely jingoistic press were marshalled in Afghanistan and Iraq after the attacks in the U.S. on September 11, 2001. The nature of warfare had evolved—from limited wars with clearly identified armies on demarcated fronts to non-conventional wars and wars of insurgency—and, with it, changes in the relations between the state, military, and media. The conflicts in this millennium provoked both long-standing and new debates surrounding the role of the press and how it actively mediates conflict, censorship, and patriotism in a hostile media environment. Journalism also experienced profound change technologically and industrially. With the fragmentation of the media business model and editorial gatekeeping, and liberated by new media, the legacy media’s relationship with conflict has changed. New voices have gained prominence. Non-Western journalists have been accorded greater recognition when reporting invasion and conflict from a local perspective. Civilians also became both an important conduit and problematic source of news, there has been an upsurge of government and military propaganda, and terrorists have become chilling media producers. For other state media organizations in the East, their global footprint has expanded rather than diminished. Nevertheless, the debates about the image and role of journalism during armed conflict; censorship; media power, technology, and mediatization; and the physical and psychological dangers experienced by journalists when witnessing and reporting conflict, prevail.

Author(s):  
Alexander Naumov

This article reviews the role of Anglo-German Naval Agreement of 1935 in escalation of crisis trends of the Versailles system. Leaning on the British Russian archival documents, which recently became available for the researchers, the author analyzes the reasons and consequences of conclusion of this agreement between the key European democratic power and Nazi Reich. Emphasis is placed on analyzing the moods within the political elite of the United Kingdom. It is proven that the agreement became a significant milestone in escalation of crisis trends in the Versailles model of international relations. It played a substantial role in establishment of the British appeasement policy with regards to revanchist powers in the interbellum; policy that objectively led to disintegration of the created in 1919 systemic mechanism, and thus, the beginning of the World War II. The novelty of this work is substantiated by articulation of the problem. This article is first within the Russian and foreign historiography to analyze execution of the Anglo-German Naval Agreement based on the previously unavailable archival materials. The conclusion is made that this agreement played a crucial role in the process of disintegration of interbellum system of international relations. Having officially sanctioned the violation of the articles of the Versailles Treaty of 1919 by Germany, Great Britain psychologically reconciled to the potential revenge of Germany, which found reflection in the infamous appeasement policy. This launched the mechanism for disruption of status quo that was established after the World War I in Europe. This resulted in collapse of the architecture of international security in the key region of the world, rapid deterioration of relations between the countries, and a new world conflict.


Author(s):  
Peter Gough ◽  
Peggy Seeger

This chapter argues that overtly political themes never dominated Federal One productions. Yet, some of the beliefs espoused by the 1930s Left took root and found appeal among subsequent generations of Americans. Much as pre-World War I bohemians saw many of their ideas absorbed into the mass culture of the 1920s, so did the goals and convictions of the 1930s Left enter mainstream social movements of the post-World War II period. These causes found inspiration to varying degrees in musical expression, as well as particular elements of the radical political activism of the 1930s. Though notably less contentious than other WPA cultural productions, the Federal Music programs in the regional West should also be viewed as harbingers of these later social developments.


1978 ◽  
Vol 16 (3) ◽  
pp. 495-507 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lewis J. Greenstein

It is widely believed that old soldiers are a problem. At least since the beginning of this century, western governments have been concerned with the issue of ‘helping’ veterans to readjust to civilian life upon their return from campaigning. It is assumed that these men would, if left to their own devices, find it difficult or impossible to ‘pick up from where they had left off’, and might, therefore, become a subversive element in the general population. Hence, one of the largest bureaucracies in the United States is the Veterans Administration which is charged with fitting ex-soldiers back into society. To a certain extent the concerns over whether they would be satisfied after their demobilisation have proved to be justified. The dislocations experienced by returned American servicemen after World War II were illustrated by popular films like ‘The Best Years of Our Lives’. More recently, the American press paid considerable attention to the rôle of the black veterans of Vietnam in the violence which destroyed much of Newark, Detroit, and Watts in the late 1960s.


Author(s):  
Richard F Hamm

Abstract This article explores the role of Arthur Garfield Hays and mostly Jewish lawyers in dismantling the American Bar Association’s prohibition of African Americans becoming members. By publicly resigning from the organization and encouraging others to do so over the ABA’s treatment of African-American applicant Francis Rivers, these lawyers made the color bar a public issue in the press. While earlier efforts in the late 1930s had failed, World War II contributed to the success of the activists’ campaign in the early 1940s, as the struggle against Nazi racism had begun to undercut American racial practices. In August 1943 the ABA changed its procedures governing admission that had previously functioned to exclude African-Americans. Other legal professional organizations soon followed its example. Thus the legal profession refashioned itself into part of the liberal order emerging in the wake of World War II.


2015 ◽  
Vol 55 (2) ◽  
pp. 143-171
Author(s):  
Petra Svoljšak

WORLD WAR I AND SLOVENIANS: 1994–2014The paper examines the Slovenian historiographic production about the topic of World War I from 1994 to 2014 and represents a continuation of a commented bibliography, which encompassed the period from 1918 to 1993. The time between 1994 and 2014 was characterised by enormous production and a shift of the contents from the »Yugoslav« themes, which had tailored the statehood remembrance after World War I; the decline of the World War I themes as the focus shifted to the historiographic examination of World War II; and the very diversified research in the last period. The central theme of the historical writings is the Soča/Isonzo Front, but not merely as a military process: the focus shifted on the level of the soldiers’ experience, gender studies, the role of the Church, fatalities among soldiers, and remembrance of World War I. All of these issues have been subjected to historical research as well.


2019 ◽  
Vol 24 (1) ◽  
pp. 134-140
Author(s):  
Alexey Kimovich Malakhovsky ◽  
Al-Imad Fakeer

The article analyzed particular qualities of press in Transjordan and Arabian Peninsula which was making its first steps during the period of transition from Ottoman influence to British colonial dependency marked by formation of modern territorial configuration for the states of the region. At present the region attracts particular attention of the world mass media. Authors underscore peculiarities of Hashemite Transjordan’s press, as well as of that of Saudi Arabia, of North Yemen monarchy and of South Yemen colonized by Great Britain. The authors conclude that the press of the region is decades behind the press of advanced Arab states.


Skhid ◽  
2021 ◽  
pp. 27-32
Author(s):  
OLEKSANDRA BIBIK

The article is devoted to the analyses of the role of Pan-Asianism in the formation of the Japanese policy of memory in the period after World War II. Since the Meiji period, Japan has had a dual relationship with Asia: on the one hand, as a region of high spirituality and culture, on the other, as a region lagging behind the West or Europe in terms of economic, political and technological development. In the 1950s, when Japan was experiencing a period of economic crisis caused by the defeat of the war, the occupation regime, and the formation of military memory, we see a trend of Japanese intellectuals classifying Japan as "Asia". If during World War I Pan-Asian ideology was used to correct imperial ideology and colonialism, modern Pan-Asian concepts tend to create a union of Southeast Asian countries for support and mutual development. The further development of these sentiments depends on the implementation of existing ASEAN projects and the specifics of the adopted political and economic strategies of the Asian Commonwealth. The articles provide the first comprehensive analysis of the constitutional documents, editions and speeches of Japanese politicians, which show the transformations of Japanese memory politic. The main terms of development of this policy, which consist in patient orientation and gradual formation of new Asianism, are separated. Discussions around Yasukuni-jinja and Japanese history textbooks as examples of these trends in Japanese politics are analyzed. Provided that Japan's pacifist position is enshrined in the constitution, there are conservative and nationalist views on the Japanese war in Asia. As part of Japan's policy of remembrance, Pan-Asianism fosters an ambivalent attitude toward Japanese expansion in Asia. Subject to Japan's official admission of guilt to neighbouring countries, condemnation of expansionism and colonialism, and the transition to pacifism, there are conservative and nationalist views on the Japanese war in Asia. Within the conservative position, Japanese guilt is questioned and the need to recognize the heroic participants in the war is proclaimed, the "Great East Asian War" is interpreted as a war of self-defence, or the correctness and truth of Pan-Asian ideals of Taisho and Showa Japan are recognized.


2020 ◽  
pp. 54-72
Author(s):  
David Barno ◽  
Nora Bensahel

This chapter explores the role of technology in military adaptation, and the markedly different challenges of technological adaptability at the tactical and institutional levels. At the tactical level, technological adaptability requires leaders and soldiers to approach problems with creativity, manufacture solutions on the battlefield, and disseminate solutions rapidly across the force. At the institutional level, technological adaptability requires effective communication with soldiers on the battlefield, and overcoming bureaucratic hurdles within established acquisition processes. The chapter includes case studies of French tank development during World War I and US Army tank development and battlefield modifications during World War II in Europe.


Author(s):  
Mark Gerges

Cavalry, one of the three principal combat branches, has long been known as “the combat arm of decision.” This view, of a horse-mounted cavalry soldier delivering a charge at a gallop and turning a battlefield victory into a rout, is the idealized view of supporters. The role of cavalry, and whether it could continue to play a role on a battlefield dominated by firearms, has been the central debate since the 16th century. After cavalry forces lost their unquestioned battlefield dominance during the medieval period, the next four centuries witnessed a reevaluation and readjustment of their role. Others refused to admit to these changes, arguing for an unaltered role. The heyday of the mounted arm’s effectiveness came during the Napoleonic era (1799–1815), when a general equality among the various branches allowed cavalry its last true measure of shock effect as its principal mission. Throughout the 19th and early 20th centuries, the successive improvements in firearms technology threatened cavalry’s continued relevance on the battlefield. This professional debate climaxed in the period prior to World War I, as the most powerful nations discussed the experiences of the Boer War and Russo-Japanese War. World War I witnessed limited use of cavalry in the major theater, but large-scale use of horse cavalry in secondary theaters provided evidence for the supporters of animal-powered cavalry. World War II was the final large-scale use of horse cavalry, but this was due more to necessity than to continued relevance on the battlefield. As a field, the study of cavalry has been looked at by two camps of writers—one looking at the flashing swords and tales of glory, and the other looking at the arm as an adjunct to the major armies. Few scholarly works discuss cavalry across the breath of the period or how cavalry dealt with the issues of modernization or societal change. Recently, the historical community has reawakened to the debates concerning the proper role and missions of cavalry. Beginning in the early 1990s, the examination of the phenomenon of military revolutions and reemergence of disciplined infantry as the dominant arm on the battlefield has led to a number of works looking into the changes this caused in the cavalry, not only in its role on the battlefield but also as the purview of society’s elites.


Author(s):  
Emanuela Scarpellini

The paper analyzes the reasons that made Milan the “City of Fairs” for over a century. The hypothesis is that the city has been able to interpret and disseminate the cultural paradigms linked to the idea of development that have led the growth of the city itself and the entire country. It deals primarily with the cultural factors underlying the creation of large international exhibitions, starting with the London Fair in1951 and the Paris Fair in 1889, showing their presence in the International Fair of Milan in 1906. Particularly strong are the aspects linked to nationalistic affirmation, faith in science and work, and the use of new forms of spectacle. The essay then analyzes the fracture caused by World War II and the many changes following it, both regarding the places of fairs and the underlying cultural messages. It emerges a new awareness about the role of consumption and, over time, different forms of spectacle trying to adapt to the new media. In this context also the Milan Fair in 2015 seems to be fully representative of the actual cultural change.


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