Strategic Communication: The Heart of Post-Conflict Processes

As stated in this Conflict Trends magazine article of 2008, the goal of any strategic communication is to create a shift in citizens attitudes and actions towards and ownership of development and governance processes.

There are four interrelated reasons why strategic communication as a change process is not often used in post-conflict reform processes. First, there is a lack of political will for radical internal reform. Second, there is the fear of being held accountable. Third, there is a tendency to use information dissemination and strategic communication interchangeably. Fourth, there is limited capacity to develop a communication strategy.

Sierra Leone and Liberia, countries that have suffered from civil war, provide examples of inadequate communication in reform processes. For example: 1) In Sierra Leone, the policy Poverty Reduction Strategy (PRS) focused on one-way, vertical communication and did not enable communities to make the connection between the PRS and poverty reduction. 2) In Liberia, the process of developing a PRS was participatory, but validation was only conducted in the capital city, with little or no participation by those in rural areas. The PRS itself lacked a communication strategy. 

During transitional post-conflict periods, new governments have an opportunity to incorporate strategic communication into reform processes. The following issues should be considered:

• Diversified media: Integrating information and its dissemination into a communication framework can broaden the participation of diverse actors in the decision-making process.
• Political parties: Fragile as most of the political parties and civil society may be, their presence can help to diversify opinions on governance issues and multiply the means of communication used.
• Citizens desire for participation: Due to their past experience of poor governance, citizens in many countries resolve to engender change through political processes.
• Resources and international actors: International agencies must show how strategic communication is used to facilitate the work of the governments they fund.
• Monitoring the effectiveness of strategic communication: Like all other initiatives, no communication strategy is complete without built-in evaluation.