Deconstructing the CNN Effect: An Analysis of U.S. Humanitarian Intervention in the Balkans, Somalia, and Myanmar

Abstract

What determines U.S. humanitarian intervention? In particular, do the media and the American public play a significant role in the decision of political elites to intervene in other countries for the sake of human rights? This thesis examines the implications of the “CNN effect”—a theory that suggests governments intervene as result of pressures inflicted by the media. While some believe emotional coverage of humanitarian crises forces political officials to take action in order to avoid reputational damage, others maintain that foreign policy decisions are made in isolation by bureaucrats independent of the media. Drawing on in-depth case studies concerning U.S. responses to humanitarian crises in the Balkans, Somalia, and Myanmar, I argue that neither account provides an adequate explanation of the true nature of the CNN effect. Rather, evidence presented in this study supports a reworked understanding of the effect in which political elites are influenced by a “latent pressure” mechanism that manifests itself through coverage of other U.S. and world events. This finding suggests that political elites are more likely to intervene when there are less competing narratives in the media.