Development Studies

Permanent URI for this collectionhttps://mro.massey.ac.nz/handle/10179/10564

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    (De)constructing 'refugeeness' : exploring mediated discourses of solidarity, welcome and refugee (self)representation in New Zealand : a thesis presented in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Development Studies at Massey University, Manawatū, New Zealand
    (Massey University, 2019) Slade, Natalie Frances
    The tragic photo of Alan Kurdi ignited protests of solidarity and compassion across the Western world in support of refugees. In New Zealand, refugee advocates and media commentators urged the government to increase the refugee quota and welcome in more refugees. Although discourses of solidarity and welcome stem from humanitarian concern, they also risk encouraging a regime of compassion and charity that speaks more about ourselves and how we feel. Refugees are framed as objects of ‘our’ moral responsibility, stereotyped as helpless vulnerable victims without agency. These discourses consequently produce a generic type of refugee – an imagining of ‘refugeeness’ – that consigns individuals to an anonymous presence, silenced and marginalised by the very act of solidarity and protest that is performed on their behalf. Situated within a post-development and post-humanitarianism paradigm, and an actor-oriented approach to discourse and agency, this research aims to explore refugee representation and discourses of solidarity and welcome in the New Zealand mainstream media, and how people from refugee backgrounds experience and contest dominant discourses of ‘refugeeness’. Using critical discourse analysis, this research critically examines the discursive constructions of refugees and solidarity in the New Zealand mainstream news media, and the power dynamics involved in the production of discourse. Semi-structured, in-depth interviews with refugee advocates and former refugees are employed to create spaces for participants to share their stories and experiences, enabling voices to be heard, misconceptions to be challenged, and new meanings to be constructed. The emergence of themes in this research highlight the relationship between discourses of solidarity, humanitarianism, and imaginings of New Zealand national identity. Within these discourses, refugees are stereotyped in a particular way that calls on the New Zealand public to respond. However, as the title of this thesis suggest, meaning is not infinitely fixed. Refugees may be labelled by discursive structures, but they will also use their agency to deconstruct and redefine the refugee label for their own ends, creating space for the construction of their own identities in the process.
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    Unbalanced images and inappropriate responses : how three Western newspapers misrepresented the 1992-3 Somalian famine : a thesis presented in [partial] fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Philosophy in Development Studies at Massey University
    (Massey University, 1996) Hope, James Nicholas
    There is widespread agreement among media analysts that the media in capitalist societies, such as Australia, New Zealand, the United States and the United Kingdom, present "news" in particular ways which favour certain readings of events over others. Whether this is an explicit or implicit act is open to debate. Regardless, the portrayal of events in the developing world, such as the tragic famine in Somalia in 1992-3, are not quarantined from this process. Consequently, the images of the developing world created in the West by the mainstream media are often highly distorted. This situation has serious ramifications as it is influential in determining the type and extent of development considered appropriate by the West for the developing world, and the assistance and aid provided. If Western understanding of the events and issues in the developing world is based on the one-sided images transmitted by the media, then this knowledge is incomplete and decisions taken on the basis of this knowledge will not meet the needs of the societies concerned. Therefore, it is not surprising that the history of Western aid for the developing world has been one of incompetence, errors and inappropriate responses. This thesis provides a critical insight into how and why the Western media works explicitly to shape the "news" we see by analysing how three newspapers, two from the United Kingdom and one from the United States, presented their coverage of the 1992-3 Somalian famine. This analysis, it is hoped, will deepen the reader's understanding of the role of the media in development matters, will alert the reader to the need to adopt a critical approach to media treatment of these matters and will provide the reader with knowledge and resources to assist in the development of such an approach. The adoption of a critical approach to media stereotyping and manipulation will be beneficial in that it will lead to a better understanding of developing world societies and more meaningful interaction between these societies and the West.