Self-censorship of Conflict-related Information in the Context of Intractable Conflict

Self-censorship is of great importance in societies involved in intractable conflict. In this context, it blocks information that may contradict the dominant conflictsupporting narratives. Thus, self-censorship often serves as an effective societal mechanism that prevents free flow and transparency...

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Bibliographic Details
Published inThe Journal of conflict resolution Vol. 62; no. 5; pp. 957 - 982
Main Authors Shahar, Eldad, Hameiri, Boaz, Bar-Tal, Daniel, Raviv, Amiram
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published Los Angeles, CA Sage Publications, Inc 01.05.2018
SAGE Publications
SAGE PUBLICATIONS, INC
Subjects
Barriers
Censorship
Conflict
Conflict resolution
Narratives
Social roles
Transparency
self-censorship
intractable conflict
freedom of expression
sociopsychological barriers
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Summary:Self-censorship is of great importance in societies involved in intractable conflict. In this context, it blocks information that may contradict the dominant conflictsupporting narratives. Thus, self-censorship often serves as an effective societal mechanism that prevents free flow and transparency of information regarding the conflict and therefore can be seen as a barrier for a peacemaking process. In an attempt to understand the potential effect of different factors on participants’ willingness to self-censor (WSC) conflict-related information, we conducted three experimental studies in the context of the Israeli–Palestinian conflict. Study 1 revealed that perception of distance from potential information recipients and their disseminating capabilities lead to higher WSC. Study 2 replicated these results and also showed that fulfilling different social roles has an effect on the WSC. Finally, study 3 revealed that the type of information has a major effect on WSC.
ISSN:0022-0027
1552-8766
DOI:10.1177/0022002716680266