Communication plays a central part in the increasing global interconnectedness of contemporary societies, nations and economies. Whether in entertainment and cultural exchange, or in business traffic and transborder data flows, communication on a world scale affects the fate of nation states and of individual lives. In "The Politics of World Communication", Cees J. Hamelink examines the political processes and decisions that determine the global communication environment. Because it is central to the arena of world politics, governments, businesses and non-governmental organizations seek to influence the basis of communicative exchange. Mass communication, telecommunication, data traffic, intellectual property and communication technology have all been regulated by agreements within the intemational community. Examining negotiation processes and their outcomes, the author offers a comprehensive analysis of the global politics of communication and its implications for specific nations, areas and communities. Underlying the analysis is a fundamental concern with communication as an issue of human rights. Do the standards agreed on world communication address the interests of ordinary people in their everyday lives? With its unique insight into world communication politics, combined with a broad humanitarian perspective, this book will be invaluable to scholars and students of international communication, world politics, international law and human rights.
Dr. Cees J. Hamelink is Emeritus Professor of International Communication at the University of Amsterdam. He is also currently Professor for Information Management at the University of Aruba, and Professor of Human Rights and Public Health at the Vrije Universiteit of Amsterdam. He is the editor-in-chief of the International Communication Gazette and Honorary President of the International Association for Media and Communication Research (IAMCR). He is author of 17 monographs on communication, culture, and human rights. His latest book is a textbook on Global Communication (SAGE, 2015). Professor Hamelink received life-time achievements awards from various international organisations and has been consultant to many national governments and agencies in the UN system.
Introduction World Communication Politics Origins and Evolution World Politics Practices, Processes and People Telecommunication Protection of Intellectual Property Rights Mass Communication Culture Development Transborder Data Flow Standardization of Consumer Electronics Analysis of Prevailing Practices Towards a People's Right To Communicate
`The most valuable feature of this book is its careful recounting of the historical processes which have fed into the current debate of global communication' - International Journal on World Peace `The value of this book is in its detailed summary of a broad range of policy issues' - Canadian Journal of Communicaiton `This book offers a comprehensive analysis of the global politics of communication and its implications for specific nations, areas and communities' - Transnational Data and Communications Report `Cees J Hamelink... knowledgeably describes and examines world communication politics, world politics, telecommunication, protection of intellectual property rights, mass communication, culture, development, transborder data flow, standardisation of consumer electronics, analysis of prevailing practices and people's right to communication.... provides a treasure-trove of facts and data on political processes, political actors and decisions that determine the global communication environment' - The Journal of International Communication `Hamelink brings decades of experience to the task.... The reader is carried through the book by Hamelink's devotion to the subject as well as his humane and generous spirit' - Journalism & Mass Communication Quarterly
