Introduction. Changing the tide: Re-examining the interplay of media, conflict and peacebuilding in Africa

This introduction presents an overview of the key concepts discussed in the subsequent chapters of this book. The book brings together theoretical and empirical contributions from African scholars in the various disciplines within the field of media studies whose work demonstrates the centrality of the media in conflict and peacebuilding in Africa. It focuses on the phenomenon of diasporic media in the Zimbabwean context. Retracing the civil war in Sierra Leone, which took place from 1991 to 2002, the book examines the ‘actual role’ played by the traditional media in either contributing to the escalation of the conflict or contributing to peace and post-conflict transformation initiatives. It also conceptualizes peace journalism with African gnosis so that peace journalism inherits an almost ʼnatural’ African character and becomes inherently African without necessarily linking it to Western trajectories. The book examines the role that social media is playing in nation-building in post-apartheid South Africa.