To what extent does the advancement of digital media impact contemporary attempts of conflict resolution?

During the past two decades, the continuous development of modern forms of digital media have
affected the contemporary understanding of politics and society. A cursory examination of recent
events emphasizes the scale of the impact which digital media has had in the political sphere. The
Arab Spring demonstrations, foreign interference in the 2016 U.S presidential election, and the News
International phone-hacking scandal are examples which demonstrate how, owing to its wideranging
use and socio-political consequences, digital media can effectively become the story.

Given the ubiquity and transformative effect of digital media on our interactions, it could be
assumed that its impact within the fields of conflict resolution and peacebuilding has been explored.
As the enhancement of dialogue between parties, including international mediators, state actors
and civil society, is cited as a practical step towards engendering resolution (Wilkinson, 2000; Tocci,
2011, 2013; Bercovitch et al., 2016), exploration of digital media's role in such dialogue appears
particularly relevant. However, the possible link between digital media and conflict resolution is
largely absent in academic literature. Although political scientists, including Nathalie Tocci and Jacob
Bercovitch, have explicitly advocated active communication as essential for successful mediation
strategies, the methods of such interaction have largely been unexplored. Attention has mostly been
devoted to the overall strengths and limitations of active engagement between mediators and
domestic parties (Orjuela, 2003; Fischer, 2011; Nilsson, 2012; Paffenholz, 2014). There is little
understanding of the role of digital media in such engagement.