[Commlist] New book: The Ethics of Engagement: Media, Conflict and Democracy in Africa

New book announcement:

Herman Wasserman, /The Ethics of Engagement: Media, Conflict and 
 Democracy in Africa 
<https://global.oup.com/academic/product/the-ethics-of-engagement-9780190917333?cc=us&lang=en&;>/. 
Oxford University Press, 2020

How can an "ethics of listening" guide the media to contribute to the 
deepening of democracy in Africa?

In Africa, the media plays a significant role in conflict management and 
resolution. Which conflicts the media report, which are ignored, and how 
conflicts are represented can have a profound impact on the outcomes. 
While the media can in some cases ensure the stability of African 
democracy, critics have pointed out that in other cases, the media 
actually increases tensions in areas of conflict. The media tends to 
privilege elite voices, offering superficial coverage of marginalized 
groups in a way that increases polarization.

In/ The Ethics of Engagement/, Herman Wasserman explores the ethics of 
the media in conflicts that arise during transitions to democracy in 
Africa. He examines the roles, responsibilities, and obligations of 
media in contexts of high socioeconomic inequality. In doing so, he 
looks at ethnic and racial polarization in the histories of colonialism, 
post-colonial authoritarianism, and hybrid regimes. Taking a critical 
view of the normative guidelines and professional identities of 
journalism inherited from contexts outside of Africa, he argues that a 
more reciprocal and collaborative approach is needed. He develops a new 
ethics of engagement that would require the media to facilitate the 
resolution of conflicts across differences of ethnicity, citizenship, 
and class. A central point of this theory is the development of an 
"ethics of listening" which would enable the media to conceive of their 
role as facilitators in democratic deliberation and community-building. 
Wasserman applies his ethics of listening to case studies across the 
African continent. He finds that by following this new model of conduct, 
the media may actually deepen democracy and help de-escalate conflict. 
This original study provides a useful framework for reimaging the 
media's role in transitional democracies in Africa--and across the globe.

Table of Contents:

Chapter 1: Introduction and Overview
Chapter 2: Characterizing Conflict, Defining the Media
Chapter 3: Media, Conflict, and Democratization
Chapter 4: Media Ethics, Professionalism, Codes, and Accountability
Chapter 5: Listening for Peace: Towards Alternative Ethics of Engagement
Chapter 6: Conclusion

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