Cold War Communications: Defining Governmental Communication Before and Behind the Iron Curtain

• In Event: ICA Plenary Interactive Paper/Poster Session and Reception
  In Interactive Paper Session: Communication History Interactive Poster Session

Abstract

The Cold War has often been described as a war of words and indeed, memories of this period are often coined by communications brought forward from the two opposed blocks.
Our case study focuses on divided Germany, a country in the very centre of the conflict between East and West. Governmental communication served as a valuable tool in the confrontation between the two separate German states.
But how exactly was it conceptualised? Did different systems breed largely different understandings of this form of political communication or are there – notwithstanding ideological and systemic differences – ascertainable similarities?
We approach the subject by the means of document analysis, taking into consideration sources such as governmental and parliamentary proceedings, court rulings, governmental directives and practitioners’ accounts.
Our findings indicate that there are surprising similarities between governmental communications in both systems; notwithstanding vast systemic differences, patterns of communication often resemble each other.

Authors

• Jan Niklas Kocks, FU of Berlin

• Juliana J.C. Raupp, Free U - Berlin