Tobias Denskus
I am an Associate Professor in Development Studies at Malmö University in Sweden teaching in our blended learning online MA program in Communication for Development which was established in 2000.
My research focuses on digital development communication topics, e.g. development blogging, the use of Twitter in international policy arenas as well as critical research on TED talks and changing professionalism in the aid industry. I am also interested in aid worker (auto)biographies as a new literary genre in media and communication studies.
I blog regularly as 'Aidnography' with a focus on popular (re)presentations of development in mainstream media.
Specialties:
Communication, social change, social media, peacebuilding, humanitarianism, aid, development studies
My research focuses on digital development communication topics, e.g. development blogging, the use of Twitter in international policy arenas as well as critical research on TED talks and changing professionalism in the aid industry. I am also interested in aid worker (auto)biographies as a new literary genre in media and communication studies.
I blog regularly as 'Aidnography' with a focus on popular (re)presentations of development in mainstream media.
Specialties:
Communication, social change, social media, peacebuilding, humanitarianism, aid, development studies
less
InterestsView All (20)
Uploads
Papers by Tobias Denskus
Discussions about the power of the corporations behind these platforms, for example, Twitter, Facebook, YouTube, or messaging applications, indicate that there is no singular, universal, or unilateral way in which social media have been contributing to peacebuilding.
An entry on social media and peacebuilding can provide a snapshot of some of these discussions that have been taking place in the ICT4D or media and communication fields. They show that enthusiasm about digital opportunities has been met with new realities of platform power, multifaceted political interference, and general concerns of how citizens and communities can harness the power of these global platforms for creating societies the mirror values of liberal peace paradigms. Therefore, this entry must discuss unfulfilled opportunities, an often naïve belief in digital tools, but also outline a future vision for digital peacebuilding beyond Twitter or Facebook “revolutions.”
The entry outlines four areas for social media and peacebuilding that roughly follow a historical trajectory: from initial “add Internet and stir” extensions of traditional peacebuilding approaches into the digital realm and the enthusiasm of social media “revolutions” and from a backlash from various powerful regimes and actors to a future where issues such as online privacy, data ownership, and the decolonization of tools have become new arenas for conflict prevention, building peace, and contributing to positive social change.
The discussion addressed many issues I have been mulling over recently-particularly how to break the cycle that even good, impactful development initiatives are caught up in, being servants to consumer capitalism and its manifestations in the second decade of the 21st century.
"Our aid industry means different things to different people, but what should unite us in our efforts is a endeavor to keep each other on their toes, use historical insights and new tools to find or redefine spaces for transformation, resistance and change; and those spaces can hardly be purchased through products, giving up our time and good intentions".
Dialog fördert?
Läuft die Arbeit der Freiwilligendienste gefahr, sogenannte „bullshit jobs“ zu unterstützen, die der britische Anthropologe David graeber vermehrt in unserem Wirtschaftssystem ausmacht?
Und verlängert Freiwilligenarbeit prekäre Existenzen in einer Endlosschleife von Aus- und Weiterbildung, Selbstoptimierung und nicht-Vollzeitbeschäftigung?
Zum Abschluss erfolgt dann eine (selbst-)kritische Reflexion ob und wie die Professionalisierung kritisch-akademisch begleitet werden kann.
approaches more widely and introduces ethnographic vignettes as one example to explain the complexity of post-conflict situations. By understanding the personal dimension, the life- and workstyles of international peacebuilders, the current evaluation discourse can become more meaningful both for organizational learning and sustainable peace efforts on the ground. The article ends by highlighting some approaches that deserve more attention and that promise to help to critically enhance current and future debates about the evaluation of peacebuilding."
The recent introduction of managerial tools and the focus on measuring the ‘effectiveness’ of peacebuilding have marginalised and depoliticised critical questions about the causes of
violent conflict, and have replaced them with comforting notions for donors that peace can be built and measured without challenging Western understanding of economy, governance,
and social aspirations of people.
peacebuilding that the UN has been proclaiming in Kathmandu seems to be another blow to the Western model of peacebuilding. The transition from war to peace is proceeding quite smoothly and the political institutions in the capital city are undergoing significant transformation, yet this transition has yet to make a difference in the lives of most citizens and for the overall ‘‘development’’ of Nepal. In some ways, the current changes are reminiscent of the post-1990 situation when a newly democratized Nepal produced a ‘‘good governance bubble’’ in Kathmandu, but was unable to address many
problems and grievances that led to the violent conflict. Prescribing more of the ‘‘status quo ante’’ medicine—as many donors and international aid organizations continue to do—demonstrates the lack of historical and institutional memory within the development community in general. In other words, the apparent success of the political transformation may signal that peacebuilding can generate stability on the surface, but at the same time fail to achieve its ultimate goal, even under favorable conditions: to contribute to long-term, sustainable development and broad ‘‘poverty reduction’’ in the postconflict environment?"
Discussions about the power of the corporations behind these platforms, for example, Twitter, Facebook, YouTube, or messaging applications, indicate that there is no singular, universal, or unilateral way in which social media have been contributing to peacebuilding.
An entry on social media and peacebuilding can provide a snapshot of some of these discussions that have been taking place in the ICT4D or media and communication fields. They show that enthusiasm about digital opportunities has been met with new realities of platform power, multifaceted political interference, and general concerns of how citizens and communities can harness the power of these global platforms for creating societies the mirror values of liberal peace paradigms. Therefore, this entry must discuss unfulfilled opportunities, an often naïve belief in digital tools, but also outline a future vision for digital peacebuilding beyond Twitter or Facebook “revolutions.”
The entry outlines four areas for social media and peacebuilding that roughly follow a historical trajectory: from initial “add Internet and stir” extensions of traditional peacebuilding approaches into the digital realm and the enthusiasm of social media “revolutions” and from a backlash from various powerful regimes and actors to a future where issues such as online privacy, data ownership, and the decolonization of tools have become new arenas for conflict prevention, building peace, and contributing to positive social change.
The discussion addressed many issues I have been mulling over recently-particularly how to break the cycle that even good, impactful development initiatives are caught up in, being servants to consumer capitalism and its manifestations in the second decade of the 21st century.
"Our aid industry means different things to different people, but what should unite us in our efforts is a endeavor to keep each other on their toes, use historical insights and new tools to find or redefine spaces for transformation, resistance and change; and those spaces can hardly be purchased through products, giving up our time and good intentions".
Dialog fördert?
Läuft die Arbeit der Freiwilligendienste gefahr, sogenannte „bullshit jobs“ zu unterstützen, die der britische Anthropologe David graeber vermehrt in unserem Wirtschaftssystem ausmacht?
Und verlängert Freiwilligenarbeit prekäre Existenzen in einer Endlosschleife von Aus- und Weiterbildung, Selbstoptimierung und nicht-Vollzeitbeschäftigung?
Zum Abschluss erfolgt dann eine (selbst-)kritische Reflexion ob und wie die Professionalisierung kritisch-akademisch begleitet werden kann.
approaches more widely and introduces ethnographic vignettes as one example to explain the complexity of post-conflict situations. By understanding the personal dimension, the life- and workstyles of international peacebuilders, the current evaluation discourse can become more meaningful both for organizational learning and sustainable peace efforts on the ground. The article ends by highlighting some approaches that deserve more attention and that promise to help to critically enhance current and future debates about the evaluation of peacebuilding."
The recent introduction of managerial tools and the focus on measuring the ‘effectiveness’ of peacebuilding have marginalised and depoliticised critical questions about the causes of
violent conflict, and have replaced them with comforting notions for donors that peace can be built and measured without challenging Western understanding of economy, governance,
and social aspirations of people.
peacebuilding that the UN has been proclaiming in Kathmandu seems to be another blow to the Western model of peacebuilding. The transition from war to peace is proceeding quite smoothly and the political institutions in the capital city are undergoing significant transformation, yet this transition has yet to make a difference in the lives of most citizens and for the overall ‘‘development’’ of Nepal. In some ways, the current changes are reminiscent of the post-1990 situation when a newly democratized Nepal produced a ‘‘good governance bubble’’ in Kathmandu, but was unable to address many
problems and grievances that led to the violent conflict. Prescribing more of the ‘‘status quo ante’’ medicine—as many donors and international aid organizations continue to do—demonstrates the lack of historical and institutional memory within the development community in general. In other words, the apparent success of the political transformation may signal that peacebuilding can generate stability on the surface, but at the same time fail to achieve its ultimate goal, even under favorable conditions: to contribute to long-term, sustainable development and broad ‘‘poverty reduction’’ in the postconflict environment?"
"Kenneth Warren was a powerful figure in twentieth century medicine whose work transformed public health policy and tropical medicine, and who left a profound legacy in global health thinking. A prolific writer and researcher, Warren was respected for his scientific research, winning awards and accolades, while his later role as activist, agitator, innovator and connoisseur of science brought him international recognition. His career in medicine is remembered for three enduring achievements:
· His efforts to introduce modern biomedical science to the study of infectious diseases in the developing world
· The proselytising energy he brought to the ethical challenge of how to provide the most cost-effective health care to the world’s poorest people
· His tenure as Director of Health Sciences at the Rockefeller Foundation, during which time he inaugurated the Great Neglected Diseases of Mankind Programme
Told through personal interviews with both Warren’s supporters and detractors, the story of Warren’s career, inexorably interwoven with the GND programme, is a compelling narrative that has not only enduring implications for current medical research, funding and healthcare across the globe, but also a long-standing legacy for the future ways in which we combat disease in the developing world."
http://www.springer.com/gp/book/9783319501451
the Black Lives Matter movement. We therefore believe that the broadening of the understanding of varieties of humanitarianism would benefit from integrating the study of social movements into the study of humanitarianisms. We argue that the critique of the dominant brand of
humanitarianism needs to be accompanied by a re-orientation and the addition of humanitarian activism to humanitarian action if we are to address the continuing crises that fail to address inequalities that persist despite ongoing efforts