Mass Communication as a Strategic Interest for Security and National Defense

• In Event: Media, Trade Agreements, and National Security

Abstract

According to several communication theories, such as agenda setting, mass media could have an effect on the public’s imaginary, the way people think, and how they conceptualize their realities. Hence, there is a positive correlation between the frequency to which an issue is covered and the public’s perception of its importance. This includes national defense issues. With the increasing risks to national sovereignty and to the self-determination of populations it is of paramount importance to understand how to implement communicational policies in emerging countries with the objective to inform the population and to gather support when confronting media aggression from the center of economic power, such as when the government of Argentina confronted the “vulture” speculative funds and their accomplices defending their actions in the financial pages of conservative outlets. This paper explores the strategic role of mass media in South American countries’ public policy when confronting threats to their national security.

Author

• Ana de las Mercedes De Maio, Universidad de Buenos Aires / Escuela de Defensa Nacional