Bringing the State Back in to Global Communications

• In Event: Transformations in Global Communication Research (ICA Roundtable)

Abstract

The globalisation literature of the 1990s and early 2000s tended to assume that the power of the nation-state was in decline in an era of global capitalism, an assumption that was shared by many activist movements of the period. This has chimed in with the idea that, in contrast to 20th century mass communication, 21st century digital media and the Internet are associated with an inevitable - and, four many, desirable - decline in the significance of the state and regulatory agencies with regard to media and communication. This presentation will argue that the role played by nation-state agencies has been shifting over time, but that this should not be seen as evidence of their declining significance in shaping communications infrastructures or media content.

Author

• Terry Flew, Queensland U of Technology