Compounding Wars and Conflict Resolution: Reporting Critical Views from Academia

The Mass Media & Communication Unit of the Athens Institute is organizing a Microsymposium on “Compounding Wars and Conflict Resolution: Reporting Critical Views from Academia” as part of the 25^th Annual International Conference on Communication and Mass Media, 10-15 May 2027, Athens, Greece.

Selected papers will be considered for publication in the Athens Journal of Mass Media and Communications (Editor: Dr. John Pavlik, Professor, Rutgers University, USA)

The relentless violence across continents in the first quarter of the 21^st century and the tantamount human toll is a civilizational failure. The world is watching the first draft of the history of a macabre display of a different kind of warfare driven by drones, missiles, and new communication technologies. In this first draft of the macabre history of the ongoing turmoil in Europe, the Middle East, and other parts of the world, the vitriolic

messages have been confounding, deplorable, and tragic. The turbulence is created by unnatural human cruelty. The invention of deadlier weapons and the ubiquity of violence necessitate the intervention of objective scholars in de-escalating, deterring, mitigating, and preventing wars, drums of war, and messages of war through constructive, impactful, and progressive communication and the media. The global picture of human toll and misery perpetrated by warriors of all stripes is alarming. It is imperative that scholars harness new ideas, propagate crystallized intelligence, and use new technologies in a frontal intellectual battle with the primitive legacy of bellicosity inherited over time. The historicity and universality of aggression, conflicts, and wars are well documented. It is embarrassing in the 21^st century that homo sapiens are refusing to evolve beyond the basal inclination to fight one another. It is time to deconstruct the ancestral and archaic toga of armament, rearmament, and killing of fellow humans. The disruption of peace is indescribably barbaric, monstrous, and mischievous. It is a challenge to civilization. This Micro-symposium offers an additional opportunity to leverage various branches of communication, including human communication, organizational communication, media ethics, and mass communication in the discourse of war and peace. This Micro-symposium is a continuation of the previous presentations noted in a part of the preceding text. You may participate as a presenter of one paper and/or an attendee.

Please submit an abstract (email only) to: atiner@atiner.gr, using the abstract submission form by 8 December 2026 to: Dr. Festus Eribo, Professor, East Carolina University, USA.

Abstracts should include the following: Title of Paper, Full Name (s), Affiliation, Current Position, an email address, and at least 3 keywords that best describe the subject of your submission. Decisions are reached within 4 weeks.

Fee structure information is available on www.atiner.gr/fees.

Special arrangements will be made with a local hotel for a limited number of rooms at a special conference rate. In addition, a number of special events will be organized which give a great opportunity to further discuss the issues presented at the conference. From ATINER’s long experience these events bring together scholars from different countries and disciplines which may result to research collaborations and joint publications. These events include a pragmatic symposium (as organized in Ancient Athens but fine-tuned to synchronous ethics), a special one-day educational island tour, a Mycenae and island of Poros visit, an Athens educational walking tour, a day trip to Delphi, and an ancient Corinth and Cape Sounion visit. Details of the social program are available here.