| dc.description.abstract | Conflict has existed in Sudan for several decades and due to this, millions of people have been displaced from their homes. Sudan has always been on focus in the world's media, with raging wars pre-dating the country's independence. The primary parties in the civil war were the government of Sudan (GoS) and the Southern People Liberation Army (SPLA) and after over two decades of fighting, the conflict came to an end in 2005 with the Conlprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA).
The overall objective of this study was to establish the role of the media in post conflict peace building in post-independent South Sudan. Specific Objectives were; to determine the influence of the media as Information Provider and Interpreter on peace building in post-independent South Sudan,determine the influence of the media in building diplomatic relationships on peace building in post-independent South Sudan and establish the role of the media in policy making on peace-building in post-independent South Sudan.
The study adopted a descriptive survey as it deemed the best strategy to fulfill the objectives of this study was a technique for making inferences by objectively and systematically identifying specified characteristics of responses and objectively identifying and using the same approach to relate trends. The study used both primary and secondary sources. The primary data was obtained through interviewing media personalities involved in conflict and peace building efforts. The interviews were carried out with the help of an interview guide.
The interview guide contained relevant issues concerning the conflicts in South Sudan and peace building. Secondary data was obtained from analysis and review of books, journals, papers and other available literature on the issue of role of media in peace building. The data was analyzed using content analysis. The population for this study included the media houses in the post independent Southern Sudan, Non Governmental Organizations, Government officials and the General public. Simple stratified random sampling was used based on the sampling frame below to come up with a sample of 50 respondents.
The study concluded that on role of the media in peace-building as a social practice, media took an active role to report on the peace process that followed the civil war in Sudan. Particularly, in terms of monitoring policy decisions that led to the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU).The study concludes that media is a strong tool that acts as an information provider and interpreter. It is also a strong means of building diplomatic relationships and also for policy making on peace building. The study recommends that the government of South Sudan institutes the policy to govern the media for efficient and careful reporting for the successful peace building mission. The journalists be given freedom and be trained on journalism to promote professionalism in the areas of work. | en_US |
