Canaries in a coal-mine? What the killings of journalists tell us about future repression.

ABSTRACT: An independent press that is free from government censorship is regarded as instrumental to ensuring human rights protection. Yet governments across the globe often target journalists when their reports seem to offend them or contradict their policies. Can the government's infringements of the rights of journalists tell us anything about its wider human rights agenda? The killing of a journalist is a sign of deteriorating respect for human rights. If a government orders the killing of a journalist, it is willing to use extreme measures to eliminate the threat posed by the uncontrolled flow of information. If non-state actors murder journalists, it reflects insecurity, which can lead to a backlash by the government, again triggering state-sponsored repression. To test the argument whether t

SUBMITTER: Gohdes AR 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5427995 | biostudies-literature | 2017 Mar

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature