Something is new with the peace talks in Colombia almost every day. Even in the few weeks since we posted last, General Ruben Dario Alzate has been released and the two parties have agreed to resume talks. This has made covering this attempt at peace very exciting. Our team has covered the history of the FARC rebels, the link between Colombian cocaine cartels and FARC funding and the suspension of talks during the kidnapping of General Alzate. More than talking about the events, we were able to follow the trend of legitimate (and illegitimate) violence. From the beginning of the organization to the current instability that the FARC is causing, the underlying question is whether or not their use of violence is legitimate. (Photo Credit BBC News.)
The research for this blog proved more difficult than I was expecting for a current event. Many mainstream U.S. news sources were not following the peace talks as they progressed on a daily basis, which made it more difficult to find updated information. Another challenge was finding sources that represented both narratives, especially since there is not a lot of support on a global scale for the FARC which some see as a terrorist organization. A benefit of having several people gathering information was being able to gather a variety of perspectives from sources that were writing about the issue. As a group we were able to more easily assess the different narratives that we could find and their relevance to international politics.
Through this assignment I have gained a greater awareness of the lack of coverage in U.S. media of Latin American issues such as this one. On a basic level I understood media bias, but actually looking for the information for this project gave me a new appreciation for need for someone to cover these issues. I also have a much greater appreciation for the practical implications of international politics. Knowing that I can now look at any international issue and understand it through a lens of political identities, exclusive knowledge, competing narratives and global economic systems helps frame the issues in a really constructive way.
Referenced:
Acosta, N. (2014, December 3). UPDATE 2-Colombia, Marxist FARC rebels to restart peace talks this month. Retrieved December 3, 2014.
No comments:
Post a Comment