Die Berichterstattung in der Frankfurter Rundschau über Jugoslawien nach dem Sturz von Slobodan Milosevic

The present study can be comprehended as continuation of former studies of the Peace Research Project Group dealing with the German press coverage of Yugoslavia since 1990. It shows the results of a quantitative content analysis of the day-to-day coverage of Yugoslavia from 6.10.2000 to 15.3.2002. The Frankfurter Rundschau has been selected as being representative for the German coverage. As in former studies it could be shown, that the German press already at an early stage had constructed different roles and identifications offers with the actors in the Balkans and that especially Serbia had been depicted rather one-dimensional, it was of special interest, if and how the press after the change of government in Yugoslavia in October 2000 had reacted to the changed situation in the region. E.g. Are there indications for a deconstruction of the "Serbian" foe image? (How) have processes of democratization have been perceived by the press? How are the Yugoslavian and how the international actors displayed? The study shows that particularly directly after the fall of Slobodan Milosevic the Frankfurter Rundschau took vivid interest in the developments in Yugoslavia and that the coverage has become significantly more many-sided. But as soon as Milosevic has been successfully extradited to the International War Crimes Tribunal in The Hague the topic "Yugoslavia" disappears gradually from sight while the prognoses for the region remain rather pessimistic.