Elections and the Media in Post-Conflict Africa - by Marie-Soleil Frere (Paperback)

Book Synopsis

Over the past ten years, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Burundi, Chad, Central African Republic, Republic of Congo and Rwanda all organized pluralist elections in a post conflict context, having experienced an armed conflict which either interrupted or prevented democratization processes. These polls were organized with the support of the international community, which viewed them as a crucial step in the peace-building process. The local media's role throughout was supposed to be to ensure that an electoral process is actually 'free and fair' - a role that becomes even more crucial in countries where the media have previously being perceived as warmongers or peace-builders in the conflicts.

Giving a voice to African journalists and analysing the work they have been publishing or broadcasting during these elections, African media specialist Marie-Soleil Frere explores if and how the local media fulfilled their duties. In doing so, the book reveals journalists' professional challenges at a time when much is expected from the media, as well as the intense political pressure faced that can make their work particularly difficult.

Insightful and comprehensive, Elections and the Media in Post-Conflict Africa underlines both the importance and the fragility of the role of the media in a democratic system.

Review Quotes

Drawing on extensive field research and interviews, the author shows how, day by day, journalists have tried to do their job in all its most noble but also most delicate and difficult aspects through periods of great tension. (...) This work will be relevant far beyond the countries at stake, and illustrates the reality of democracy in Africa.
Annie Lenoble-Bart, NetSuds

The empirical rigour and analytical depth applied to the subject of how African media and journalists operate in challenging times, and how they fulfill or fail to fulfill their roles in advancing democracy, are remarkable. This may not be a new subject, but Frere's is certainly a fresh and authentic approach to it. Impressive.
Monica B. Chibita, Department of Mass Communication, Makerere University, Kampala

The interest of this book lies in its powerful rendering of a wide range of practices and experiences, drawing on an in-depth knowledge of journalism practice in Africa and showing sensitivity to the political and social context acquired through much field research.
Patrick Quantin, Politique africaine

About the Author

Marie-Soleil Frère is Research Associate at the National Fund for Scientific Research and teaches Journalism at the University of Brussels where she is also the Director of the Research Centre in Information and Communication (ReSIC). Her work explores the relationship between media and politics in Sub-Saharan Africa. She worked previously as a teaching assistant at the University of Ouagadougou (Burkina Faso), and as a Program Officer supervising media support projects at the International Organization of the Francophonie in Paris. She has published The Media and Conflicts in Central Africa, Presse et démocratie en Afrique francophone and Médias et Communications sociales au Burkina Faso. She is also an Associate Expert at the Panos Institute in Paris, for which she supervises the publication of training manuals and studies for media practitioners in Africa.
Marie-Soleil Frère is Research Associate at the National Fund for Scientific Research and teaches Journalism at the University of Brussels where she is also the Director of the Research Centre in Information and Communication (ReSIC). Her work explores the relationship between media and politics in Sub-Saharan Africa. She worked previously as a teaching assistant at the University of Ouagadougou (Burkina Faso), and as a Program Officer supervising media support projects at the International Organization of the Francophonie in Paris. She has published The Media and Conflicts in Central Africa, Presse et démocratie en Afrique francophone and Médias et Communications sociales au Burkina Faso. She is also an Associate Expert at the Panos Institute in Paris, for which she supervises the publication of training manuals and studies for media practitioners in Africa.