Decision-making by the public in case of conflicts

 The decision-making (or
perhaps more appropriately: awareness-making) process of the public is quite
varied, given the many types of actors within what we refer to as the public.
This topic will examine the internal dynamics and the external influences on
the public agendas, focusing on the general public, interest groups,
corporations and NGOs.

Internal Dynamics

It is quite difficult to
gauge the independent mechanisms behind which the general public responds to
foreign conflict, because the public does not generally have its own
independent means of gathering such information, and is thus almost entirely
dependent on outside sources. It is perhaps more useful to look at the factors
behind the general public’s response after it has already been influenced by
external actors that is, after a conflict has been placed on the agenda of the
general public.

Internal
factors affecting public response to foreign conflict include the ability to
identify and to sympathise with victims of conflict. This may be related to
race or religion, a study in the USA, for example, found that white audiences
attached more importance to unemployment as a national issue after seeing the
plight of an unemployed white man than those who saw the plight of an
unemployed black man (Iyengar and Kinder, 1987: 41). 

The ability to sympathise
with a victim is often dependent on the perceived innocence or blamelessness of
the particular victim. Where conflict is seen as a manifestation of ‘tribal
chaos’ or ‘ancient grudges’, the perceived innocence of the victim is low and
the response is equally low. These issues may also be connected to the
perceived simplicity of the conflict.

Another
factor that may affect public response is guilt (or anger) over previous
inaction. This is a factor in public response to Darfur, which is connected to
the neglected Rwanda conflict by the word ‘genocide’, and ‘never again Rwanda’
is a powerful emotional motivator. These factors become effective in mobilising
the public if they feel that something can be done, and that they themselves
can do something. 

All of these factors work against attention being given to
the conflict in the DRC. The DRC conflict does not attract public sympathy
because it is black on black violence, is highly complex, and it is difficult
to isolate and easily identify groups that can be considered blameless,
particularly when so little information is available to begin with.

 Interest groups
based on race, religion or national identity draw their strength from a number
of factors: assimilation into the host society, maintenance of links with the
homeland, strong leadership, access to government institutions, and the ability to form mutually beneficial
relationships with policymakers (Haney and Vanderbush, 1999: 341-361). All of
these factors are reasons behind the strength of the Jewish lobby in the USA
and other Western countries, but they are also the reasons behind the weakness
of the African lobbies in the West.

 For historical reasons dating back to the era of slavery, citizens of
African descent are more likely than other groups to occupy lower
socio-economic groups, and have been largely politically marginalised. Furthermore,
with much of the African-American population coming from a background of
slavery, the connection with the ‘homeland’ is weak (many do not know which
part of Africa they have come from). There may be general sympathies towards
Africa in general, but this is too broad for any effective mobilisation in
response to specific conflicts.

Corporations
are motivated by the pursuit of profits. While it can generally be said that
peace fosters economic development, this does not necessarily apply to the
extraction of natural resources, which makes up a major part of the interest of
Western corporations in Africa. In order to facilitate the extraction of the
maximum amount of resources at the lowest possible cost, corporations may make
deals with governments or rebel groups (as they have in the DRC). 

Deals with
governments may be highly advantageous to the corporations, with little benefit
for the host government or citizens, and may be possible only through corrupt
practices. Deals for the extraction of oil resources perceived to, have little
benefit for the host communities are a key source of violence in the Niger
Delta in Nigeria.

Natural resources and Conflicts in Africa

But profits are not only
dependent on the raw ability to extract the maximum resources at the minimum
cost. Damage to reputation on the consumer side may adversely affect profits,
necessitating adjustments in corporate strategies. As a number of advocacy
groups in the West conducted campaigns aimed at raising public awareness of the
issue of ‘blood diamonds’ and encouraging boycotts, for example, the diamond
industry found itself in a position where bad publicity would harm its profits.
It responded by actively cooperating in the process to identify and certify the
origin of diamonds and to curb the trade in diamonds associated with conflict. NGOs
involved in conflict-related humanitarian aid and advocacy have humanitarianism as their base
principle.

Most
major NGOs were formed as a response to humanitarian suffering in conflicts:
Save the Children after World War I, CARE from World War II, World Vision from
the Korean War, and MSF from the Nigerian Civil War. Their purpose is to
provide humanitarian assistance to those suffering from conflict and other
emergencies. Unable to function without adequate resources, however, NGOs need
to pay considerable attention to fundraising and the availability of funds for
particular crises. 

Decision-making by the public in case of conflicts – NGO Role in the resolution

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availability of funds from the general public and from governments is likely to
be. This is not always about organisational survival, NGOs also tend to have
an instinctive organisational desire to expand and thrive, and will thus be
likely to participate in aid operations that will enhance their reputation and
fame (which will improve their credibility and ability to fundraise in the
future). Security concerns for their activities may also affect the activities
of NGOs, as was seen most clearly in post-war Iraq, where NGOs were targeted
and forded to leave, despite the generous aid contracts and potential boost to
reputation available.

Policymaker Influence

As shown
above in the section on policymakers, the general public influence policymakers
through public opinion and other forms of pressure. But the policymakers do not
passively accept this influence as is. Conversely, policymakers will often take
steps to lead, mould or manipulate public opinion in such a way that it will
support or at least shift to a position closer to the policies preferred by the
government of the day. 

The reduction of interest in foreign affairs in general
associated with the end of the Cold War gave Western governments more leeway to
do so, although the rise in the perceived importance of terrorism has most
likely reversed this trend. Politicians can influence public opinion by making
statements or releasing information that may either raise the perceived
importance of a particular issue, or divert attention from another. 

They may
also use public opinion polls in a way that support their position. Many
Western governments have refused to engage in military interventions on the
basis of lack of public support, for example, despite evidence of opposite
trends in most polls (Isernia, 2000: 293-294).

 The influences between policymakers and interest groups and corporations
are also mutual. Politicians rely on election campaign
contributions from both interest groups and corporations, and in return
interest groups and corporations rely on politicians to support their
interests. Policymakers can pass laws that regulate where and how corporations
do business, and in extreme cases can put sanction regimes in place to prevent
business activities and the remittance of funds to groups in conflicts zones. 

Such regimes in Angola, for example, cut off the rebel group UNITA from support
bases and contributed to its decline. Interest groups and corporations may,
however, find ways to circumvent these restrictions. The UK private security
firm, Sandline, was implicated in a scandal, for example, that involved
supplying arms to the government of Sierra Leone against the provisions of UN
Security Council sanctions.

Policymakers have a major
influence on NGOs because they provide a large proportion of NGO funding.
Government funding for NGO activities can become both a carrot and a stick.
Particularly where Western governments have been belligerent parties in conflict
(Kosovo. Afghanistan and Iraq, for example), these governments provide large
amounts of aid through NGOs as a strategy to improve their image, justify the
benefits of going to war, and repair the damage done. 

Such governments even
refer to NGOs in such activities as “force multipliers” ^–and
“an important part of our combat team” (Smillie and Minear, 2004:
156). While many NGOs welcome the large amounts of funding, others hesitate to
become involved as a partner to a belligerent. There is after? pressure by
governments to accept funding in support of ‘their’ emergency, and future
funding in other regions may be contingent upon it. The result is NGOs simply
cannot sit out such an emergency, and become involved.

Media Influence

By then covering the conflict on a daily basis, they increase public awareness on the conflict. This frequency, combined with packaging or framing the conflict in an emotive morality play format, considerably raises public response. On the other hand, when the media give little or no coverage to a conflict, or by packaging a conflict as a tribal clash that no one can do anything about, there is less likely to be a response. Even conflicts that have been ‘chosen’ by the media may fall away into obscurity when the media perceive ‘compassion fatigue’ among their audience.

Interest
groups and corporations may also be affected by media coverage of conflicts in
which they have an interest. Interest groups may be buoyed by coverage that
supports their cause, or forced to make mitigating strategies when coverage is
not in their favour. The activities of corporations may also be affected because of media coverage
that portrays their role in a negative light. The issue of blood diamonds is a
case in point, where the diamond industry was forced to take action to regulate the trade in illicit diamonds
not only because of the advocacy groups
that had taken up the case, but also because of the media that was amplifying the potentially damaging
advocacy activities of these groups.

As the
policymakers have an influence on NGOs by enhancing the funding for high
profile conflicts, so too is the media a major contributor in the ‘creation’ of
high profile conflicts, and consequently, major funding opportunities for NGOs.
The media is instrumental in presenting conflicts in such a way that generates
public sympathy and therefore private donations for conflict situations. 

The
media not only assists NGOs in fundraising for certain conflicts, but also in
enhancing their reputation and awareness among the public of their existence
and their works. The media can even be the very catalyst for NGO formation.
Amnesty International (AI) was formed after its founder read a newspaper
article on jailed prisoners of conscience in Portugal. A television program
about East Timor inspired a bus driver in Ireland to begin an influential
support movement in his country for East Timor.

Academic Influence

 Academics influence the general public primarily because they write the
history books that are used to teach children in primary and secondary schools,
and they directly teach university students. Their recordings of history are
also found in books on the shelves in
family homes and in public libraries. Their analyses on conflict, international
politics and current affairs are also sold in the bookstores. 

This means that
what they choose to write (or perhaps more importantly, what not to write)
affects the awareness of the general public on the state of conflict in the
world. Interest groups may also be affected by historical writings of their
particular group. A greater focus on Africa by academics in history and current
affairs, for example, may be beneficial for African-American interest groups in
the USA.

Academics may also influence
corporations and NGOs, by producing and supplying information and analyses
countries and conflict situations. Corporations purchase information and
analyses on business opportunities, as well as long-term trends, stability and
security to guide their investments. NGOs may hire consultants and experts for
needs assessments, evaluations, and information on security. In conducting its
mortality surveys in the DRC, for example, the IRC teamed up with the Burnet
Institute in Australia to conduct the surveys. In these ways, academia can
influence the public agenda.