Merchants of Morality

Bibliographic Data

ID9833136
AuthorsClifford Bob (Duquesne University, corresponding author)
Year2002
Issue129
Pages36
Publication date2002-03-01
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessNo
TypeARTICLE
VenueForeign Policy (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0015-7228 • E-ISSN: 1945-2276
PublisherJSTOR (PUBLISHER)
DOI10.2307/3183388
OpenAlexW2261773651
LanguageEN
Citations received40

How do a few Third World conflicts become international causes celebres, while most remain isolated and unknown? Why, for instance, has there been so much recent attention to the Darfur crisis - but so little to ongoing conflict in the Democratic Republic of Congo, despite vastly more casualties in the latter than in the former? This article, a brief, popularized version of my new book, The Marketing of Rebellion: Insurgents, Media, and International Activism, rejects the view that those who gain such support are simply the lucky winners in a global humanitarian lottery. It also rejects the idea that there is a meritocracy of suffering in which the worst-off groups gain the most support. Instead, I argue that conflicts and the insurgent groups involved in them, face a Darwinian struggle for scarce media attention, NGO activism, and international concern. In this competition, the lion's share of resources go to the savviest, not the neediest

Competition (biology · Darwinism · Democracy · Development economics · Economics · Epistemology · Face (sociological concept · Lottery · Meritocracy · Morality · Political economy · Political science · Politics · Social science · Sociology · Global Peace and Security Dynamics · Law · Political Conflict and Governance

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