Globalization, Communication and Transnational Civil Society

Book excerpt: Contemporary theorising about globalisation processes has only recently come to acknowledge the crucial role of media systems, a theme long familiar to researchers within communications. Thus this volume situates media forms and processes as central foci of globalisation processes and gives communications researchers a chance to respond to the theories often devised by those without any intimate involvement in communications theory or practice. The responses are loud and varied. The first half of the book clusters theoretical critiques and embellishments of globalisation theory as well as offers some alternative theoretical models for examining current communications and cultural practices in the unfolding new world system. Considerable attention is paid to unpacking notions of a ""transnational public sphere"", ""global civil society"", and ""solidarity"", and examining the role that media play in structuring both potentially hegemonic practices as well as alternative practices. The second half clusters a variety of case studies exploring different facets of the dynamics of globalisation. Three chapters focus on specific media forms such as the examination of music, language, and news. A last chapter explores the notion of solidarity in a different way: how international organisations such as Amnesty can try to influence the news agenda to mobilise transnational public sympathy for an oppressed group, specifically street children in Brazil. The introduction and conclusion, each written by one of the editors, provide contextualisation and development of the debates, and focus on further issues for theoretical development and empirical research.