Abstract
In the absence of reliable and unbiased sources in most African countries, press reports can serve to evaluate some specific causes of death, on condition that a political analysis of the relation between the press and the political power is conducted. Tested on data collected from a leading Kenyan newspaper, the method proposed here is used to conduct a historical and geographical analysis of deaths due to police violence, community clashes and banditry. It also helps to point out the discrepancies between the press discourses on insecurity and political violence, and the reality of deaths reported by the very same press.
Résumé
En l’absence de sources fiables et non biaisées, les articles de presse peuvent servir à évaluer quelques causes de mortalité spécifiques, à condition qu’une analyse politique des relations entre la presse et le pouvoir politique soit parallèlement conduite. Testée sur des données recueillies dans un quotidien majeur du Kenya, la méthode proposée permet l’analyse géographique et historique des décès dus à la violence policière, aux violences communautaires et au banditisme. Elle permet en outre d’identifier les divergences entre les discours parus dans la presse sur l’insécurité et la violence politique, et la réalité des décès rapportés dans cette même presse.
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Bocquier, P. and Maupeu, H., 2005, Analysing Low Intensity Conflict in Africa Using Press Reports, European Journal of Population, 21: 321–345.
Bocquier, P. Maupeu, H., 2005, Analyse d’un conflit latent en Afrique à travers les coupures de presse, Revue Européenne de Démographie, 21: 321–345.
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Bocquier, P., Maupeu, H. Analysing Low Intensity Conflict in Africa using Press Reports. Eur J Population 21, 321–345 (2005). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10680-005-6858-z
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10680-005-6858-z
Key words
- Africa
- collective violence
- homicides
- human rights
- insecurity
- Kenya
- low intensity conflict
- political violence