Contributing to understanding in the media: ‘As a researcher, you can sometimes provide the missing pieces of a puzzle’

Counterbalance

While some researchers are reluctant to appear in the media, Stel sees it as an opportunity. In particular, to add nuance to the portrayal of Syria and Lebanon. “I find that reporting can be very one-sided in this respect. Sometimes far too oversimplified. So I try to use my expertise to counterbalance over-simplistic framing in the media. For example, by exploring the nuances and explaining the backgrounds.” Stel also sees this as a social duty. “I feel it’s my responsibility to share expertise publicly when asked. Careful analysis is important to enable people to really understand what’s going on. As a researcher, you can sometimes provide the missing pieces of the puzzle.”

And the more complicated the situation is, the more puzzle pieces there are, says Stel. “Syria and Lebanon are very diverse and complex societies, with numerous social and political groups. Both countries are a microcosm of the entire region, in which you find many major political conflicts and geopolitical developments reflected on a smaller scale. Take Syria: here you see the international ambitions of Russia and the United States, the Kurdish issue and the regional competition between Saudi Arabia and Iran, for example. For my research, I want to understand local governance dynamics there as well as how these relate to our Dutch and European foreign policy. The way in which countries like Lebanon, Turkey and Jordan deal with Syrian refugees, for example, is partly determined by our refugee policy. We don’t think about that much, but it‘s important to help us better understand both the humanitarian and political situation there.”

Through her research, Stel hopes to achieve two goals. “I try to trace the consequences of our foreign policy for people in Lebanon and Syria. And I hope to find out how European diplomacy balances, on the one hand, the mandate from home to keep the reception of refugees in the region at all costs, and, on the other hand, the pressure from regional host countries to allow refugees to prematurely return.”

Woman in the media

Stel, who has lived in Syria, Lebanon and Palestine in the past, regularly receives positive reactions to her media appearances. “A friend of a friend told me that my explanation of Hezbollah's role in Lebanon on the radio helped him understand the war there better. I’m glad that I was able to broaden his view. That's why I do it.” However, she sometimes receives negative responses, especially when it comes to her TV appearances. “Although I’m not on social media myself, such unnuanced comments often still reach me. The vast majority of these are not about the substance of my explanation, but rather question my expertise with no justification - often in a very gendered way. Fortunately, Radboud University has been supportive.”

As a result of these experiences, Stel feels that the Woman in Media Award is still needed in 2025. She refers to figures from the organisation Vaker in de Media, which show that only 26% of experts in the media are women. “Ideally, this award eventually becomes redundant, because the role of female experts in the media has become normalised. Hopefully, this award will help achieve that goal.”

Voting for the Woman in the Media Award can be done through 25 February 2025 via vrouwindemedia.nl