Understanding International/Global Communication: An Historical View Lecture 1: Understanding International/Global Communication: An Historical View Reading: Thussu Ch 1; Balnaves, et al Chs. 1 & 2

Historical Roots I Business & Trade Routes (Mercantilism) * Early stages were marked by pure economic interests on the part of European powers such as Great Britain, Portugal and Spain. * An initial military conquest was needed, followed by military presence to secure the materials. Colonization * In the mid-late 19th Century, however, there was a shift in imperial strategies by the major powers to total annexation and rule of the colonies.

* This meant a formal conquest, and complete takeover of the administration of the territory (law, education, etc.) * Countries most involved in this activity between 1880 & 1920: Great Britain, France, Germany, Italy, The Netherlands, Belgium, The USA, and Japan. * 1/4 of the globe’s surface was controlled by 6 states. * The relationship between colonized and colonizer was an exploitative one, and the colonies were tapped of their raw materials and labor.

Links between colony & “Motherland” * The colonization of countries such as India (by the UK) led to close ties with the colonizing country. * Links in both economics, but also culturally, with British education, law, even religion taking hold in the colonized nation. These would remain after the colonizer had left. * “Elites” in colonized nations (Indians, West Africans, etc.) were educated in Great Britain, France, etc. at military academies & law schools. * The pure Colonial era would end in the 1940s, but events in the last 50 years have led many to suggest that imperialism is alive, but in more subtle forms.

Historical Roots II (post-1945) The Cold War (1945-1990) * Power De-Colonization (1940s-1960s) * India in 1947 (Great Britain), Indonesia in 1960 (Dutch), Zaire in 1960 (Belgium), Algeria in 1962 (France) End of the Cold War (1991)

From Military to Economic Domination Dependency * Most of the colonies were left poor & underdeveloped in the 40s, 50s, & 60s. The raw materials had been stripped away by the occupiers, and there was very little infrastructure. * Also, the people of the colonized countries had essentially been treated as slave labor, and were uneducated and unskilled. When the colonizers left, citizens of the newly independent nations had a hard time adapting and re-building their country.

* Also, the native “elite” in the colonized nations had been educated in the “motherlands” (France, Britain, Belgium)...so when the countries became independent, those European-educated elite came into power, and maintained the connections with the colonizing powers. * What all of this set up was a cycle of “dependency” that replaced colonization. Rather then being occupied by the country militarily, the newly independent nations now relied upon Western nations for goods, money, and other things. This included, of course, media products as well as other products.

The Transnational Corporation (TNC) * In the last 30 years (or so) there has been a dramatic growth in Transnational Corporations (TNCs)...these companies are usually located in one nation, but operate in a large number of others (McDonald’s, Coca-Cola, IBM, Microsoft, News Corporation, Sony, etc.) * In a way, the TNCs have replaced governments and countries as the major actors in the imperialism debate.

Globalization Economic Domination = Cultural Domination? Media Products + Western Goods + Western Consumption Habits Regional Products: original or “hybrid?”

Fighting Cultural Imperialism The Non-Aligned Movement New World Communication & Information Order (NWICO) MacBride Commission (1980)

Key Issues (NWICO, MacBride) Socio-technological imbalance led to one-way flow of information from ”Core” to ”Periphery” ( between the ”haves and have-nots”) Information Rich could dictate terms to the Information poor Domination of Western countries and sale of information as a commodity Imbalance was an extension of imperialistic past (neo-imperialism)