Active agency, access and power

Abstract

In this special issue on active agency, access and power, we move beyond media representations of people, objects and events during war and conflict, which often underpin research at the intersection of Media and War Studies. We do so by focusing on active citizenry, participation and journalism in different communication networks, across societies and communities, and from a diversity of perspectives. More specifically, the individual contributions to this special issue explore, question and challenge – in different ways – how agency, access and power are negotiated through multiple media discourses, technologies, outlets and everyday practices during war and conflict. They articulate and emphasize the need for a plurality of voices and levels of participation in the interplay between social actors and technology, and they demonstrate how agency emerges in, and is shaped by, distinct media practices, institutions, emotions and affects in this context. Before we introduce the individual contributions that make up this special issue, we briefly engage with the key notions that underpin the debates they address. Agency is multi-faceted and, at times, ill-defined. Yet, here, agency is understood as