conflict & communication online, Vol. 9, No. 2, 2010
www.cco.regener-online.de
ISSN 1618-0747

Stig Arne Nohrstedt & Rune Ottosen
Brothers in arms or peace? The media representation of Swedish and Norwegian defence- and military co-operation

This article discusses the relevance of Johan Galtung's model for peace journalism and critical discourse analysis (CDA) in light of the media coverage of Swedish and Norwegian defence cooperation. By analysing the proposal for closer military cooperation between the Nato-member Norway and the non-aligned Sweden the article emphasises the paradox that the fact that both Sweden and Norway have forces fighting in Afghanistan was not mentioned when the heads of the Norwegian and Swedish Defence in a joint article justified the need for a closer cooperation between the two countries. Thus this analysis illustrates some limitations of the peace journalism perspective and the necessity to take a contextual approach in which also the possibility of "peace talk" being part of a war discourse is considered.

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On the authors:
Stig Arne Nohrstedt, Ph.D is Professor of Media and Communication Studies at the University of Örebro, Sweden. His Research areas include war and conflict journalism, journalistic ethics and roles, risk and crisis communication and media and structural discrimination. Recent books: Nohrstedt, S.A. & Ottosen, R. (eds.) (2005): Global War - Local Views: Media Images of the Iraq War. Göteborg: Nordicom; Nohrstedt, S.A. & Ottosen, R. (eds.) (2004): US and the Others. Göteborg: Nordicom.
eMail:stig_arne.nohrstedt@hum.oru.se

Rune Ottosen, b. 1950, Cand. polit. in Political Science (University of Oslo, 1984), BA in Journalism (Norwegian College of Journalism, 1973); Journalist in various media (1977-84); Lecturer and Research Fellow at the Norwegian College of Journalism (1984-88); Information Director and Research Fellow at the International Peace Research Institute, Oslo (PRIO) (1989-92); Research Fellow at the Norwegian Federation of Journalists (1993-95); Associate Professor at the Faculty of Journalism, Library and Information Science, Oslo College, since 1996; Professor in the same institution from 1999; Ottosen is also the president of the Norwegian Association of Non-Fiction Authors and Translators. Author of several books and articles on journalism history and topics related to war and journalism.
Recent book publications: Journalism and the New World Order, Vol. I. Gulf War, National News Discourses and Globalization (ed. with Stig-Arne Nohrstedt, 2000); Kosovokonflikten, medierna och medlidandet (The Kosovo Conflict, Media and Compassion, 2002).
eMail: Rune.Ottosen@jbi.hio.no