Date of Award
8-2003
Degree Name
Master of Arts
Department
Political Science
First Advisor
Dr. Gunther Hega
Second Advisor
Dr. Brian Schaffner
Third Advisor
Dr. Sushi Datta-Sandhu
Fourth Advisor
Dr. Mitch Kachun
Access Setting
Masters Thesis-Open Access
Abstract
The issue of creating and promoting justice is becoming more and more significant in our era of democratization. Thus it is important to understand how countries as diverse as South Africa, Germany and the United States have managed to address the issue of providing justice to groups that suffered under previous regimes in these countries. I examine victims’ groups as diverse as former Japanese American internees, ex-German slave and forced laborers, and black South Africans. My hypothesis in this study is that two factors, the media and public education through quasi-legal commissions are critical for redress campaigns to be visible, completed, and remembered in societies. The media and investigatory commissions are mainly responsible for creating and promoting justice. In examining these cases, I am applying a multiple comparative case study approach, in order to learn the degree of the media’s role in informing the public about historical injustice. I examined three major national newspapers from each country and found that public education played varying roles: liberating the victims, legitimizing their claims, or memorializing their suffering throughout these campaigns.
Recommended Citation
Baxter, Lavinia A., "The Contribution of Education and the Role of the Media in Creating and Promoting Justice" (2003). Masters Theses. 1425.
https://scholarworks.wmich.edu/masters_theses/1425