Global Television and the Shaping of World Politics

In 1995, United Nations Secretary-General Boutros Boutros-Ghali said of the Cable News Network, “CNN is the sixteenth member of the [15 member United Nations] Security Council.” Scholars as well as diplomats have recognized the existence of a link between communications and diplomacy, but up until now the implications of this relationship have been left unexplored. This work examines the historic interconnectedness between communications and diplomacy, how communications have historically determined the practice of diplomacy, and how global television in particular can determine diplomatic outcomes under certain conditions. This work also examines the ways in which today’s broadcasting will shape foreign policy processes in the future and the future impact of global television in world politics.

Royce J. Ammon is the social sciences instructor at Western Nebraska Community College in Scottsbluff, Nebraska.

Royce J. Ammon
Format: softcover (6 x 9)
Pages: 207
Bibliographic Info: notes, bibliography, index
Copyright Date: 2001
pISBN: 978-0-7864-1062-0
eISBN: 978-0-7864-5002-2
Imprint: McFarland

Acknowledgments    VII

Preface    1

ONE: An Historic Relationship   

1 The Communication—Diplomacy Link    5

2 Paradigms, Communication, and Diplomac    12

3 Diplomacy and Communication: The Results of Linkage    48

TWO: Present Realities   

4 The Persian Gulf War and Telediplomacy    65

5 Global Television’s Ability to Drive Policy    88

6 Global Television and Diplomatic Outcomes    96

7 Global Television’s Mechanisms for Driving Policy    130

THREE: Future Potential   

8 Today’s Communications, Tomorrow’s Diplomacy    151

Notes     155

Bibliography     179

Index     189

“important”—Library Journal; “thorough…recommended”—Choice.