Tracing the development of communication markets and the regulation of international communications from the 1840s through World War I, Jill Hills examines the political, technological, and economic forces at work during the formative century of global communication. Hills analyzes power relations within the arena of global communications from the inception of the telegraph through the successive technologies of submarine telegraph cables, ship-to-shore wireless, broadcast radio, shortwave wireless, the telephone, and movies with sound. As she shows, global communication began to overtake transportation as an economic, political, and social force after the inception of the telegraph, which shifted communications from national to international. From that point on, information was a commodity and ownership of the communications infrastructure became valuable as the means of distributing information. The struggle for control of that infrastructure occurred in part because British control of communications hindered the growing economic power of the United States. Hills outlines the technological advancements and regulations that allowed the United States to challenge British hegemony and enter the global communications market. She demonstrates that control of global communication was part of a complex web of relations between and within the government and corporations of Britain and the United States. Detailing the interplay between American federal regulation and economic power, Hills shows how these forces shaped communications technologies and illuminates the contemporary systems of power in global communications.

Reflecting the profound changes that are taking place in the world system, this book charts a conceptual framework for understanding emerging patterns of global politics and communication. Tehranian begins by tracing the evolution of the world system from its agrarian origins into today's post-industrial, information-based "pancapitalism." He then draws out the implications of that evolution for global systems of domination, development, and discourse in the context of fragmentation. A study of the complexities of relations between the Islamic and Western worlds demonstrates how systemic distortions in cross-cultural communication have led to tragedies in world politics.

"Comprehensive in its scope and scale, rigorously argued and richly illustrated with wide-ranging examples, this clearly written and user-friendly book from a veteran commentator on international communication will be valuable for students and scholars. Strongly recommended." - Daya Thussu, Professor of International Communication, University of Westminster Global Communication explores the history, present and future of global communication, introducing and explaining the theories, stories and flows of information and media that affect us all. Based on his experience teaching generations of students to critically examine the world of communication around them, Cees Hamelink helps readers understand the thinkers, concepts and questions in this changing landscape. This book: Explores the cultural, economic, political and social dimensions and consequences of global communication Introduces the key thinkers who have been inspirational to the field Teaches you to master the art of asking critical questions Takes you through concrete cases from UN summits to hot lines and cyber-surveillance Boosts your essay skills with a guided tour of the literature, including helpful comments and recommendations of what to cite Brings you directly into the classroom with a series of video lectures This book guides students through the complex terrain of global communication, helping you become a critically informed participant in the ever-changing communication landscape. It is essential reading for students of communication and media studies.

The new edition of this major work offers a comprehensive analysis of international communication systems and the global flow of information. Hamid Mowlana places the analysis of global mass media and other forms of communication within a critical overview of international and intercultural relations. Extensively rewritten and revised, Global Information and World Communication deals with the phenomenon of global information flow in all contexts - political, economic, cultural, technological, legal and professional. Mowlana illustrates how different communication strategies and systems have contributed to the creation of powerful interests and have altered the global scene. He takes into account recent events and shows how these have challenged basic assumptions and theories, enabling the debate about communication and world society to embrace broader concepts of world politics, information economy, cultural ecology and international development.

Over seven chapters the book shows how international communication has been shaped by the structure of international political power and how these means of global communication have in turn been strategic tools for the exercise of international political power. There are separate chapters on global news flows, the international trade in cultural products (films, books, advertising, recorded music, periodicals and books), and government propaganda activities. The politics of the International Telecommunication Union (ITU), the Universal Postal Union (UPU) and the World Intellectual Property Organisation (WIPO) are analysed.

This special issue of Review of International Studies focuses on how International Relations (IR) communicates with the world, and vice versa. It opens up the discussion of the politics of communication within the discipline and beyond. With a variety of different mediums ranging from media, film, memory, music, culture, and emotions, this book seeks to accentuate their importance for IR, both as a source of knowledge and as an ideational exchange which shapes IR. It examines the diverse ways that multidisciplinary thinkers try to understand and explain global routes, mobilities, cultures, commodifications, singularities, discourses and aestheticisations. This special issue specifically addresses three interrelated themes: How international and global studies approach the question of communication, how to conceptualise and respond to the globalisation of communication and how global problems get communicated within and across the institutional settings of the epistemic disciplines in general, and the IR discipline in particular.

In Global Communications, International Affairs and the Media since 1945 , Philip M. Taylor traces the increased involvement of the media in issues of peace and especially war from the nineteenth century to the present day. He analyzes the nature, role and impact of communications within the international arena since 1945 and how communications interacts with foreign policy in practice rather than in theory. Using studies which include the Gul War and Vietnam, Taylor details the contemporary problems reporting while at the same time providing a comprehensive historical context.