La lutte pour l'Azawad: MNLA public relations responses to conflict in northern Mali, 2011-2014

Sean Neil Curtis, University of Texas at El Paso

Abstract

This thesis examines the Internet public relations content of Mali’s Tuareg rebel group, the Mouvement National de la Liberation de l’Azawad (MNLA). Content analysis grounded in speech act securitization theory is applied to the 259 posts on the MNLA’s primary French language website in order to determine if MNLA website posts correlate with the events occurring in the northern Mali conflict. The data reveals that various characteristics of MNLA statements do correlate with events in the conflict. What the MNLA says provides important insight into the organization and the conflict itself. The identified correlations allow for MNLA rhetoric and activity to be predicted by analysts based on what events may occur or are occurring related to the northern Mali conflict.

Subject Area

African Studies|Sub Saharan Africa Studies|Military studies

Recommended Citation

Curtis, Sean Neil, "La lutte pour l'Azawad: MNLA public relations responses to conflict in northern Mali, 2011-2014" (2015). ETD Collection for University of Texas, El Paso. AAI1591942.
https://scholarworks.utep.edu/dissertations/AAI1591942

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