ABSTRACT
This chapter explores the complex and often debated relationship between the media and international relations. It examines arguments that the media has a deep and significant impact on how governments shape their foreign policy and how individuals and groups of people are also influenced to respond in certain ways to issues presented in the media. There is no doubt that the media plays some role in international relations but the exact nature of this role is often debated. Is the media’s role to negotiate the relationship between the major actors in international affairs? Or does the media play a more significant role as an international actor in its own right with the ability to influence and shape foreign policy and responses to international events and issues?
The chapter will familiarise students with some of the most well-known theories about the role and influence of the media on international relations. These theories range from those that claim the media has a decisive and substantial role in the formulation of foreign policy to those that argue that the media itself is influenced by political and market forces in order to maintain the status quo of power. Through some practical examples and case studies, students will be encouraged to critically examine these theories. Students will also learn how the media is a tool for different actors in international relations and how each of these actors uses the media in ways that can significantly influence their role in international affairs.
The chapter presents an overview of how the media is becoming one of the most valuable diplomatic tool for states but also how it is becoming a tool for individuals and groups to enter into and influence the international arena. While the role of the media in shaping international relations is still a subject that invites debate and arguments, the role of new media technologies has introduced another level of complexity to the debate. In particular, new media technologies allow for individual actors that are not connected to the state or to international media producers to create their own news and set the news agenda. In this chapter, students will learn how individuals and non-state actors use the media in ways that can also shape international relations and the ways in which governments respond to global events and issues.
