Communication Networks and the Transnational Spread of Ethnic Conflict

Abstract

How the interconnectedness of the global system influences the network of ethnic conflict communication is the focus of this work. The study aims at understanding how the analyses of ethnic conflicts gather momentum and spread throughout the world through the review of literature, case studies, and media coverage, social media issues, and deliberate disinformation campaigns. The study employs a qualitative approach, drawing on secondary sources and theoretical frameworks to explore hypotheses that talk about how media coverage is rising in proportion to the ethnic conflict’s transnational diffusion, how social media usage is connected with diaspora mobilisation and conflict extension, and how the purposeful spread of fake news increases the intensity and geographical scope of the conflict. The Rohingya crisis is also one of the best examples of the shifts in communication networks and their impact on the ethnic conflicts by influencing the international community’s perception and response. Communications networks may have the potential to escalate conflict and ‘spread’ wrong information, but they also have the potential to create awareness and tackle conflict. In the light of these observations, the study offers recommendations in the areas of codes of ethical media practices, regulation of use of social media, especially in multi-ethnic societies, to prevent incitement, and techniques of combating disinformation.