“Apparently Forgotten Wars". (Digital) Genocide, Information and the Construction of the Other in Postmodern Conflicts

This paper proposes a problematic reconstruction of the relationship between ethnic conflict, racial hatred, and media, focusing on the analysis of information flows and the social construction of the Other, as a public enemy, in war contexts. Through a socio-historical approach, analyzing sources offered by the press and international literature, we will examine the genocide that took place in Rwanda in 1994, where about one million people lost their lives in only 100 days. This case study is still particularly interesting today as an example of a timeless conflict, or rather of a 'forgotten (ethnic) war’.