The Media as a Tool of International Intervention: House of Cards (Southeast European Studies)

This book explores the role of external powers and international organisations in media assistance in Bosnia and Herzegovina. Through analysis of key documents, media reports and interviews with key participants it examines the main actors, their roles and the way in which they influenced the media and society. Bosnia and Herzegovina remains one of the biggest experiments in international intervention in modern history. Media assistance, as well as international intervention, was an enormous project which involved many donors and recipient organisations, and large amounts of money, but it is just one of many countries where democratisation and state-building took place with little to no input from the local community. Since the mid-1980s, media assistance has been an integral part of international intervention used as a tool of democratisation in post-conflict countries and societies. The process is often led and created outside these countries and implemented by various international organisations, led by technocrats and dictated by the will of donors. The author uses the case study of Bosnia and Herzegovina to assess this in a broader context. This volume will be of interest to scholars and students of Southeast Europe, international organisations, peace-building, and rebuilding society in post-war countries, as well as journalists and policy-makers. Cover Half Title Series Page Title Page Copyright Page Dedication Table of Contents List of Tables List of Acronyms Preface Introduction: Military-Imposed Peace and Democracy Vague Notion of Democracy and Freedom Overcoming Obstacles The Subject of the International Intervention References 1 Experimenting with Semi-Protectorate in Bosnia and Herzegovina Creating Semi-Protectorate Media Assistance Process Tool for Democratisation and State-Building BiH as a Case Study of Media Assistance References 2 War of Pictures and Words The Last Yugoslav Generation Milošević’s Rise to Power Dividing the Country Images and Words of War Justifying Crimes Prosecution of Hate Propaganda References 3 Media Created by the International Community Bildt TV – Network Created by an Order Relative Freedom for Journalists Trying to Save the OBN One Radio for All Times Lost References 4 Imposing Laws and Rules for the Media The Media Under Protectorate Media Regulations Under the Military Influence Limited Effectiveness of Regulators Clashes Inside the Semi-Protectorate Clearing the Mess Regulating the Press Creating Media Legislation Embryonic Implementation of Laws References 5 The Public Broadcasting System Under Protectorate Overcoming the Obstacles Ignoring Local Concerns A Technical Solution to a Political Issue The Public Trust – Missing Element References 6 Lessons From the Experiment Not Serving the Public References Annexes IMC Rule 01/1998: Qualifications for a Broadcast Licence IMC Code on Media Rules for Elections Important Changes t. IMC Documents Concerning Paid Political Advertising During Election Periods Guidelines for Equitable Access to Media in Election Periods The Peace Implementation Council Decriminalise Defamation Law Says IMC IMC Calls for Decriminalisation of Defamation Law Index