'The misdeeds and follies of morally bankrupt elite'? Framing rioting and ethnic violence in Karachi – a case study

Abstract

This study is based on an analysis of the different arguments utilized in the Pakistani news media in relation to the riots in Karachi after a bomb blast in the Ashura procession on 29 December 2009. From a framing analysis of the related columns and editorials written in The News International for a month after the incident, the article argues that the columnists and editorials articulated opinions and arguments based upon a variety of different interpretations of the causes of ethnic violence. However, there was some consensus around instrumentalist interpretations in the opinion and editorial columns, which emphasized the role of elites and governmental inadequacies in triggering the ethnic mobilization and conflict. The article concludes that any explanation of ethnic violence must combine insights from a variety of perspectives to explain riots. An enhanced understanding of the driving forces behind ethnic violence might lead to richer understandings about how to circumvent or prevent it.

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