Big Data and Peacebuilding

Sanjana Hattotuwa

doi:10.5334/sta.ct

Abstract

<p class="p1">Any peace process is an exercise in the negotiation of big data. From centuries old communal hagiography to the reams of official texts, media coverage and social media updates, peace negotiations generate data. Peacebuilding and peacekeeping today are informed by, often respond and contribute to big data. This is no easy task. As recently as a few years ago, before the term big data embraced the virtual on the web, what informed peace process design and implementation was in the physical domain – from contested borders and resources to background information in the form of text. The move from analogue, face-to-face negotiations to online, asynchronous, web-mediated negotiations – which can still include real world meetings – has profound implications for how peace is strengthened in fragile democracies.

Highlights

Any peace process is an exercise in the negotiation of big data
The conduct of peace negotiations has changed from an art practiced by and involving a select few to broader social conversations, both in conflict-affected contexts and beyond, including amongst diaspora
Most obviously, a lot of the information produced during peace negotiations – of any sort, whether official or society-wide – is not just turgid or highfalutin prose

Summary

Introduction

Any peace process is an exercise in the negotiation of big data. From centuries old communal hagiography to the reams of official texts, media coverage and social media updates, peace negotiations generate data. The conduct of peace negotiations has changed from an art practiced by and involving a select few to broader social conversations, both in conflict-affected contexts and beyond, including amongst diaspora. When curated and suitably presented, the aggregate of this information (or specific comments and voices) can either progressively inform or destructively oppose official negotiations.

Results

Conclusion