Analysis of International Communication and Globalization...

We all seem to partake –somehow- in a new streak of research where the concept of globalisation takes form of some sort of mantra, rendering previously valid questions irrelevant and imposing new paradigm shifts in a variety of disciplines. In the field of International communication, the process of globalisation is not only about the emergence of huge transnational corporations. It also implies changes in communication policies and their impact on cultural autonomy and identity not only in weaker nations but in the most powerful ones as well. It is in this context that International Communication scholars are forced to rethink their existing theories of the free flow of information, the rapid growth of information technology, and the†¦show more content†¦The first part of this book features an interesting discussion about two key and contending research tendencies in the field of International Communication: an ‘Orthodox’ trend usually associated with the American tradition of quantitative research, and a ‘Critical’ trend that started in Western Europe with a qualitative and theoretical interest in the study of culture in terms of impact on ‘forms of consciousness and ways of life.’(p.7) This dichotomization might have been true in the early beginnings of International Communication research, but it no longer holds today as more American scholars adopt a critical approach in their enquiry of the effects of global communication on national cultures. Besides, Mohammadi should have asked someone else who not only writes about but also does critical research. James Halloran, who was given the task to represent the critical tradition, is more concerned with mass communication and public- policy making than cultural processes. The section on communication technology, deregulation and their impact on Third World countries is a discussion of how globalization and rapid technological change increase competition and accentuate the need for developing countries to adapt quickly. Adaptation, however, entails submission to a non-privileging economic order dictated by international financial institution, which helps to erode the autonomy of nation-states. As averred earlier, these arguments have been