Broadcasting Peace In CôTe D’Ivoire: What Happens After Democracy? : A case study of Côte d’Ivoire’s UN radio- ONUCI FM

Abstract: This research will analyze the radio station ONUCI FM, UN’s peace radio in Côte d’Ivoire. The central focus is on journalists’ perception of their role as professional advocacy for peace and democracy. Personal interviews with five ONUCI FM-journalists provide the primary source of qualitative source. In light of the Security Council’s decision to end UN’s peacekeeping mission in Côte d’Ivoire in 2017 followed an uncertainty of ONUCI FM’s future before it was decided that the station would continue to broadcast under the Felix Houphouët-Boigny foundation. This research attempts to elucidate the consequences in similar previous cases. This research shows that the UN often lacks a long-term plan of how to handle their stations when their mission ends, thereby creating an indisputable journalistic vacuum where they previously operated. This research shows that few UN radios are capable of surviving without donations but that leaving abruptly may cause harm to the achieved peace. With the intention to provide a solution to the vacuum created after the UN this research explores the possibilities of citizen journalists filling the void after the organization’s withdrawal. This research argues that Citizen Journalism is a suitable substitute to Peace Journalism when UN radio stations stop broadcasting. Applied theories are Peace Journalism, Journalism ethics and Citizen Journalism. All theories are applicable in the analysis of journalists as nation builders, government partners, and agents of empowerment and also as watchdogs. In conclusion, the purpose of this research is to understand the journalist's own experience of working at ONUCI FM and to analyze if a radio station such as ONUCI FM, when no longer supported by the UN, can benefit of Citizen Journalism.