Page 2 - Conflict, Terrorism, and the Media In Asia

Conflict, Terrorism and the

Media in Asia

There are many different kinds of sub-national conflicts across Asia, that have a
variety of different origins, but since September 11, 2001 many of them have
been increasingly portrayed and drivers in the West as part of the global terrorist
threat, to be dealt with by the ‘war on terror’. This book examines a wide range
of such conflicts, focusing in particular on those in Malaysia, the Philippines,
Indonesia, China and India. It shows how, despite their significant differences,
they share the role of the media as an interlocutor between the combatants,
governments and society, and explores how the media – including the ‘new
media’ such as the internet – exercises this role. The book raises a number of
issues concerning how the media report different forms of political violence and
conflict, including issues of impartiality in the media’s relations with governments
and insurgents, and how the focus on the ‘war on terror’ has led to some forms of
violence – notably those employed by states for political purposes – to be
overlooked. It argues that whilst the media plays a major role in sub-state
conflicts, its impacts, including those of the new media, are generally limited,
whilst the United States has also failed to use the media effectively to influence
regional media outputs. Overall, this book is a thorough examination of the role
of the media in relation to conflict and terrorism in Asia.

Benjamin Cole was awarded a PhD from Southampton University in 1998. He
has published a number of articles on non-proliferation issues and British nuclear
history, and co-authored The New Face of Terrorism (2001) with Dr Nadine Gurr.