Erasing Ethnicity? Propaganda, Nation Building, and Identity in Rwanda

• 成果类型: Article
• 署名作者: Blouin, Arthur; Mukand, Sharun W.
• 署名单位: University of Toronto; University of Warwick
• 刊物名称: JOURNAL OF POLITICAL ECONOMY
• ISSN/ISSBN: 0022-3808
• DOI: 10.1086/701441
• 发表日期: 2019
• 页码: 1008-1062
• 关键词: field experiment; CONFLICT; media; trust; COMPETITION; CONSTRUCTION; diversity; ECONOMICS; peasants; BEHAVIOR

摘要

This paper examines whether propaganda broadcast over radio helped to change interethnic attitudes in postgenocide Rwanda. We exploit variation in exposure to the government's radio propaganda due to the mountainous topography of Rwanda. Results of lab-in-the-field experiments show that individuals exposed to government propaganda have lower salience of ethnicity, have increased interethnic trust, and show more willingness to interact face-to-face with members of another ethnic group. Our results suggest that the observed improvement in interethnic behavior is not cosmetic and reflects a deeper change in interethnic attitudes. The findings provide some of the first quantitative evidence that the salience of ethnic identity can be manipulated by governments.