The purpose of this thesis is to examine British foreign policy-making towards the armed conflict that broke out in former Yugoslavia in June 1991, focusing on the role of the media as a domestic variable in the foreign policy-making process. After the end of the Cold War, British foreign policy-making was faced with a set of changing variables on the international level and attempted to adjust policy to them. This thesis, using the theoretical basis provided by Foreign Policy Analysis on the role of the media - in our case, representative samples of the British press and electronic media - as a domestic input in the foreign policy-making process, examines the various aspects of British policy towards the dissolution of former Yugoslavia as it attempted to reconcile the demands made by the international and domestic environment. Focusing on the issues of recognition of the breakaway republics of Slovenia and Croatia and armed intervention by the international community, which determined to a large extent the policy that would be followed by Britain and the EC/EU in the later stages of the Yugoslav conflict, this thesis argues that the influence of the media was not as great as has been often assumed, especially by policy-makers themselves. Looking at the conditions under which media influence can be maximised, it will be argued that these conditions were not present during the period under examination. Instead, British policy was formulated taking mainly into account stronger domestic and international concerns. However, the main traits that characterise media coverage of the first six months of the conflict, leading to the recognition of Slovenia and Croatia, are important on their own account, as they set the stage for the intensive coverage of the war in Bosnia and Herzegovina, where conditions for media influence were maximised.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:bl.uk/oai:ethos.bl.uk:497926 |
| Date | January 2007 |
| Creators | Valassopoulou, Yolanda-Vassiliki |
| Publisher | London School of Economics and Political Science (University of London) |
| Source Sets | Ethos UK |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Electronic Thesis or Dissertation |
Page generated in 0.0016 seconds