Young Armenia, Azerbaijan Bloggers Trade Insults, Promote ‘Enemy Images’: Research

The predominantly young bloggers in the South Caucasus trade insults and use language to belittle and de-humanise the ‘enemy,’ according to recent research conducted by independent peacebuilding organization International Alert (headquarters in London).

The organization is in the final stages of year-long research work trying to uncover why ‘enemy images’ and negative stereotypes towards opposing sides to the conflicts in the South Caucasus are so deeply entrenched.

The research looked at the mainstream media, blogosphere, political discourses and history textbooks in the whole South Caucasus. Researchers from across the South Caucasus (including Armenians and Azerbaijanis) worked together in cross-regional teams to examine these different media that shape public perceptions in each society in the region.

The research on the media from different regions in the South Caucasus show quite similar results. The study of the blogosphere revealed a “mirror-effect” between each region’s blogs. The posts in the blogosphere incite predominantly hate and other negative feelings; bloggers often hide behind the anonymity of the internet. Although less anonymous, the work of the journalists across the region is influenced by similar negative tendencies. Interviews with journalists from the region on ethical dilemmas showed how the line between objectivity and patriotism is often hard to draw in times of conflict: certain information, for instance, might be withheld while other information is published widely.

The study of political discourses revealed how the conflicts and more specifically the concept of an ‘external’ enemy are often used around election times by competing factions internally in societies. The resilience of enemy narratives is explained to a certain extent by a close study of the region’s history textbooks. The textbooks across the region tend to depict a simplistic and one-sided narrative of history which is absorbed by children at an early age and accepted as ‘truth’.

The research underscores more than ever the need to continue to foster dialogue and to develop capacities for critical and independent thinking in particular amongst the younger generations in the South Caucasus.