Stereotyping and Conflict within the Context of Power Relations in a Multicultural Society: The Communication Imperative

ABSTRACT:Power relations are natural and exist in societies around the globe but the difference lies in thelevel of operation. The concept of power relations in the political realm is very complex especially in the 21stcentury when individuals, communities, groups and nations are trying to dominate one another.Wars andconflicts going on in many places are nothing but struggle for supremacy to control the polity and nationalresources. Cases of ethnic, regional, religious and communal conflicts abound. Each struggles for power to exertmaximum control over others especially in a multicultural society like Nigeria where our cultural diversity issupposed to be our strongest unifying force. Some of these conflicts are as a result of stereotypes.It is a wellknown fact that stereotypes constitute a lot of problems in the society.To resolve the conflicts, effectivecommunication is imperative as most conflicts are caused by miscommunication often via the media.It needs themedia to eliminate the stereotypes that cause conflicts. The paper therefore conceptually argues that variouscommunication media and strategies can be effectively used to resolve conflicts emanating from stereotypes.Thestudy is anchored on Social Responsibility Theory (SRT) and Salad Bowl Model (SBM).

KEYWORDS:Communication Imperative, Conflict, Multicultural society,Power Relations,Stereotypes,