Key Points for Reporting on Conflicts/Wars

In the following, we are providing key points for reporting on the genesis and course of conflicts and wars by our experts. These key points are structural aids; they need not be “checked off” in order, nor do all aspects necessarily have to be represented equivalently. We want narrative stories from our experts.

A. Genesis of Conflict

 

• Historical facts which have been seminal for the development of conflicts – colonial history, victories or defeats in struggles for liberation, conquest by regional powers or status as a hegemonic regional power, regional/national “nation-building”, etc.
• The international political context – the effect of imperial powers, the role of the UN.
• The relationship of power and violence within societies. Family structures, the inten-sity of patriarchal power over women and children, questions of ownership of property, the legal structure, the role of religion as a tool of power in social relationships (men, women, children, animals).
• The economic situation: wealth/lack of resources, wealth /poverty of the society

 

B. The Trigger of the Conflict/War

 

• The situation prior to the outbreak of violence: How did the presentation of the country’s own history change, and who caused that change? How did power constellations change, and how has violence been expressed from the outside and within the society? Were processes destructive to social cohesion apparent?
• What events triggered the violence?
• Was there an obviously identifiable aggressor?
• What were the stages of the escalation of violence?
• What arguments did the belligerent parties use to legitimise their escalation of violence?
• Which role did the media play?

 

C. Course of the Conflict/War

 

• How and when did the international community/ the UN react to the outbreak of violence?
• Were the warring parties supported with weapons/money from abroad?
• How was the civilian population involved in the conflict/war? What was the situation of women and children, participation of teenagers in acts of war, what was the context of argumentation used by the participants to legitimise their causes?
• What pressure/ violence did the warring parties exert upon the civilian population? Violence/rape of women and children?
• Which resistance movements were formed?
• What were the decisive events for the escalation of processes of violence?
• When and where in the course of the conflict/war were there factors which made pacification seem possible? Why couldn’t these factors be used?
• What role did the UN play in the conflict, e.g., via peace-keeping forces? What effect did the presence of these troops have upon the warring parties involved? Or the other way round: what effect did the absence of the UN in the conflict have?

 

D. Resistance to the War

 

• Which resistance movements existed?
• How did resistance movements behave towards the civilian population?
• Which civilian forces were there which opposed the violence?
• What role did the work of women played in maintaining the social life of families?
• Which forms did civilian resistance take?

 

E. Pacification Strategies

 

• What attempts at pacification were made?
• What role did outside powers, including the UN, play?
• Which attempts at pacification were successful, or temporarily successful?
• Why were there setbacks?
• What were the consequences for the civilian population of unsuccessful attempts at pacification, e.g. destruction of social cohesion?
• What are the most important factors permitting enemies to find a peaceful compromise?

 

F. Reconciliation Work

 

• Is there reconciliation work despite violence and war?
• What are the immediate and indirect effects of reconciliation work?
• Which collective traumas must be addressed?
• How can attempts be made to heal traumas?
• Under which conditions can a settlement between perpetrators and victims take place?
• Are there hidden points of approach which permit a mutual respect between former enemies?
• How can people with extreme experiences of violence become peaceable?

 

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