War, ‘incendiary media’ and international human rights law John Nguyet Erni LINGNAN UNIVERSITY ,HONG KONG In numerous major military conflicts of the past twenty years, of which the second Gulf War is the most recent, there has been an increased focus by observers concerned with international law on the use and abuse of the media to incite violence, ethnic hatred and even genocide. Radio, print, television and the internet have all been identified as significant political tools for mass manipulation by dictatorial governments to drive deep-seated animosity between social and ethnic groups, resulting in an intense atmosphere of mis- trust, misinformation and devastating killings. The pre-conflict abuse of the media to inflame inter-ethnic differences can be a catalyst for war. Journalists find themselves caught up in both direct and implicit censorship by those in power, particularly when they work for media outlets different from those controlled by the dominant ethnic group or political party. Sometimes editors and journalists find themselves in mortal danger for speaking out against the regime, or simply for exercising their free speech rights. At other times, how- ever, print and television producers may become complicit with the regime in spreading messages of hatred. Once warfare breaks out, the media space can become central to the struggle between factions who want to utilize the media to escalate hatred and spread fear of those who oppose them. In post-conflict times, with the media infrastructures possibly destroyed, journalists killed or fled, and the entire media space quickly becoming a site of renewed struggle between the interim authority and remaining factions, there are critical questions that urgently concern international human rights law. To what extent should foreign agencies – including possibly the occupying power – intervene in the post-conflict reconstruction of the media space in order to prevent it from being abused again, as well as to help produce and Media, Culture & Society © 2009 SAGE Publications (Los Angeles, London, New Delhi and Singapore), Vol. 31(6): 867–886 [ISSN: 0163-4437 DOI: 10.1177/0163443709343792]