How peacebuilders communicate: Public discourse, performance and the enactment of UNTAC’s mandate in Cambodia

This article proposes a framework for the empirical study of peacebuilders’ communication practices. It argues that in the current debate over the potential contribution of communication to more responsive or inclusive peacebuilding, too much importance is assigned to text or content, while neglecting the texture of ideas. Drawing on previous work by Chadwick and Cole, this article defines texture as language’s form, organisation and interplay with symbolic discourse. It suggests four analytical angles and uses these to discuss the video recordings of the programme Political Roundtable. It was produced and distributed by the United Nations Transitional Authority in Cambodia (UNTAC, 1992–93). By paying closer attention to the mediation of ideas as they evolve top-down, it is possible to get a better sense of peacebuilders’ involvement in ongoing negotiations over shared frameworks of understanding. This can support inquiries into the shifting power balances that result from peacebuilders’ discursive interventions.