Hostile Political Communication: Triadic Examples from Africa (original) (raw)

2017, Political Communication in Africa

The dimension taken by this chapter is unique in that it surpasses the conventional prisms of verbal communication connecting elections, campaigns, songs, films, religion, culture, diplomacy, etc. adopted by the very few scholars who have directly tackled the discourse on political communication since its appearance in the academic field of Political Science in the later part of the twentieth century by additionally hinging on nonverbal, symbolic communication connecting violence in society. By historically exploring a triad of examples addressing violence as means of communication between government and the governed through the underpinning of communication theory, the chapter argues that communication between government and the governed in Africa is characterized by hostility deeply rooted in a disconnect occasioned by factors of ethnicity and leadership legitimacy, among others. The chapter concludes by recommending more viable and peaceful means of communication between the studied groups.